From Ronin to Master
by Irritus185
Summary: A hapless human from our world transported to the world of pokémon, Keitaro finds himself surrounded by mutant monsters and evil organizations. Will he get out alive? Not if Mew, his friends, or his pokémon have anything to say about it. LHxPokémon XOVER
1. It’s a Whole New World You Live In

Disclaimer: I do not own Love Hina or Pokémon. Kinda wish I did because having mutated super monsters at my beck and call would be damn awesome. Oh look, here come the flam- _(incinerated by irate fans)_

**From Ronin to Master  
****Chapter 1: It's a Whole New World You Live In  
By Irritus185**

The air was floating around on a soft breeze, mingling amongst the branches of the forest with a soft and careful 'hello' and 'goodbye.' It was quiet inside of the foliage, various creatures shifting around, completing their daily tasks without a care or knowledge of the foreign variables around them. What did it matter to them what came into their domain? Unless it was one of those blasted trainers, they had no concerns or worries. And even if they did, it would be rather dumb to try and capture them when they were surrounded by their protective brethren.

No, better to just sit and wait and see what would happen.

A groan filtered through the air. Inside of a small clearing that pushed its way through the dense underbrush, the young man scratched his head, looking around with a dull and exasperated gleam in his eyes. What was going on now?

He removed his thick rectangular glasses, rubbing his eyes with a balled up fist. Squinting, he replaced the frames and craned his neck to stare at his environment. Okay, so he was in the middle of the forest now. Nothing too serious…His brain worked listlessly under the mounds of brown hair, trying to figure out what had happened. Normally it would be on full overdrive, but for some inexplicable reason the man couldn't find himself to be aware yet.

He rubbed his chin. Okay, so things were going just fine that morning. The life of Keitaro Urashima was predictable in its unpredictability…and sheer horrific beatings.

Wake up, get dressed, leave the room, get beaned in the head with a double kick by Sarah and Su. Make way down to kitchen, greet Shinobu as she cooks breakfast, trip over stray pot that had fallen to the floor, fall on top of Shinobu, cause her to cry, have both Naru and Motoko start the daily bashings with a Naru Punch and ki strike sending him on a complimentary trip of the Stratosphere Express. Eat breakfast, clean the springs, deal with a drunk Kitsune sexually molesting him before extorting her monthly sake dues, get beat by Naru and Motoko again due to sexual molestation as though her were the guilty party. Go to Haruka's tea shop, complain to his aunt, get smacked by her paper fan, have Mutsumi pass out on him, beatings again. Eat lunch, study with Naru and Mutsumi, get blasted with Su's new dimensional transport ray and get transferred to a different plane of existence. Go to-

Wait, back up a second there.

Keitaro's normally atrophied logic section of his brain gave a small sputter, smoke filtering out and allowing the cogs to begin locking into each other. They turned, realization starting to dawn in his mental landscape as the previous incident played back like some sort of pathetic comedy…

FRTMFRTMFRTMFRTMFRTM

The sun had just begun to set over the horizon, allowing a wonderful palette of hues to stream into the unlucky landlord's room. He had just finished placing several bandages over the wounds that were more reluctant in their healing. Of course, said wounds would probably cripple the average man but Keitaro could never be described as the average man.

Oh no, somebody up there hated him far too much to give him that small respite.

He sighed, thinking back on the day's erratic events. It was ironic that he had become used to such chaos when all he wanted was to live a normal Japanese life – get into college, get a good job, and marry the perfect Japanese woman, the promised girl of his childhood.

Instead he was the owner of probably the most dangerous habitat on the planet, populated by the scariest and most volatile species of all – the teenage female.

It wasn't that he did not like the girls. He loved them with all his heart. Though he had been there for only a year, they were like his family – the type of family you hide from close friends and hope to god never figure out the lock to the room in the basement they reside in – and he was happy to know that he had people close to him. Nevertheless, there were times when he wondered just what chemicals and hormones worked through their-

His thoughts were interrupted when his door was blasted off the wall, twirling before the thin sheet of paper slammed him with such force that it got stuck somewhere between his waist and chest. He gave a silent cry of desperation. Why, oh why did this happen? He was burning through the inn's funds like crazy having to replace all the broken doors, walls, ceilings, floors and various other fundamental structures.

"Hey, ronin! Got something to show ya!"

He turned his head to see a wildly grinning Su standing in what used to be the doorframe to his room. 'Used to' being the keyword as it now was now nothing more than a tangled and charred scrap of wood, paper, and what could be metal. The foreign girl's smile was infectious, despite what she had just done and also what it usually entailed for the hapless man. He gave a weary smile back at her.

"What is it, Su? You have a new invention you wanted to show me?" A different thought raced through him. _Or use on me? _

He eyed the contraption that was clutched in her petite, tanned hands. It looked like it was another one of her ray guns. It was about half a meter in length, the barrel tapering before expanding a bit more into a small dish. Its handle was huge with at least a dozen random knobs and buttons that were haphazardly placed in no discernable fashion. He noticed that a small hose was attached to the back and wound itself down before trailing out of his room and down the hall.

The junior high school student's grin became even larger, and she bounded into his room, leaping onto the man and bowling him onto his back. Keitaro's cheeks flushed at the way she straddled him, but his eyes stayed firmly stuck on her face. With the amount of times she did this to him he was already starting to become used to it.

Su laughed at his expression. It was always so, so, SO much fun to play with Keitaro. Being around him was never boring. She crawled off of him, allowing Keitaro to sit up. She nodded proudly.

"Yup! This is my brand new invention – the Dimensional Transport Ray Mark II!"

Keitaro blinked, his voice coming out as a drawl when he realized something. "And what happened to the first version?"

He immediately knew he hit the target when Su's eyes widened for a second before she giggled sheepishly and wrapped her arms around the back of her head. "I wonder…Guess it was a failure?" She glanced at him with a cute look on her face, hoping to disarm him. She had discovered that most of the tenants could get away with pretty much anything if they pleaded to Keitaro's soft side enough. While she was never one to do so, she found that it was kind of fun to play like this with him every once in a while.

His brows furrowed. "Su…"

She laughed weakly. Though Keitaro was an idiot and a softie, he was gradually becoming accustomed to the crap that the girls put him through. Because of this, there were times when even he grew a backbone and demanded (in as nice and meek a way as possible) that they pay for the trouble they made. This was one of those times.

"I messed up with the regulator on the first one. Too much power rushed in at once and overloaded the volt capacitor so the entire gadget flushed out the excess energy by way of a sudden and irreversible meltdown."

He hardly understood half of what came flying out of her mouth but he got the basic gist. After all, it was the inevitable fate of most of Su's inventions when she was just learning, and had already perfected, its structure and functions.

"So it exploded?"

"Pretty much."

He hung his head and started to sob quietly. "So that's why Shinobu was complaining about the draft whenever she climbed past the third floor to the roof."

Su placed the gun on the floor and wrapped her arms around his head, patting it like he was some sort of pet. "There, there," she cooed. "The explosion wiped out that evil goo monster I created last Tuesday. We don't have to worry about it consuming all of Japan and then the world now." Her voice made it seem like what she had just said was nothing to worry about.

Resisting the urge to smash his head against the wall, Keitaro pried Su off of him and made her sit back down in front of her. Sighing, he waved his hand and said, "Fine, fine. Just tell me where the damage is and I'll go fix it up. But for now, tell me about this new dimensional translocator thingy."

The grin reappeared on her face. "That's the Dimensional Transport Ray Mark II," she corrected heartily. "I got the idea when watching that new anime. You know, the one where people jump from world to world to stop the ultimate evil from wiping out all existence?"

"You mean the one with…" He trailed off, desperately trying to hide the blush. Scientists were _not_ supposed to wear those types of clothes. What kind of person performed dangerous experiments in a mini-skirt, fishnet stockings, and a corset? Oh wait, the otaku kind… "Nevermind. Go on, what does it do?"

Su nodded. "Well, it has to do with…Wait, do you know anything about quantum physics?" His answer was a blank look. "String theory?" Same thing. "M-theory?" An even blanker stare. "_Any_ kind of theory involving space-time mechanics?"

"Su, not everyone is a genius mad scientist like you are."

"But it makes everything so much easier and fun!" She blanched at the annoyed look forming on his face. "Oh, poo. Well, do you at least no know about parallel universes?"

He tilted his head to the side. "You mean where there's an infinite amount of universes just like our own but with subtle differences so that no two are exactly alike?" He wasn't completely clueless. Proudly he thought about all the other things he knew. Whether they would ever be useful except in situations like this he did not know but still, at least they were on tap.

Su clapped her hands together in glee. "Exactly! For instance, in one universe, the shogunate might have won over the loyalists. In another, electricity could have been discovered by someone other than Ben Franklin. You could even be popular with the girls and not such a dumb, failure-ridden ronin!" She missed the change in his expressions. Then again, she never was one to think about people's feelings too much or consider the consequences of her actions. She followed the train of thought of blast first and then blast again…and again…and again…and again…

"In any case, there could be any number of parallel universes just like ours, and they exist on planes right next to each other. Think of it like a soap bubble. The constant fluctuation of colors signifies the constant changing and shifting of dimensions over, across, and through each other. The only reason they don't mix is because each plane exists on a slightly different region of space-time, even if it's only by a fraction of a nanometer or nanosecond. However, there are times when the resonations of these barriers allow some of these universes to meld with each other to create certain effects on each of them. They could range from nothing to natural disasters on planets due to the sudden geological, climatic, and magnetic shifts in the natural order of the world. It could even cause special distortions and cause quasars or nebulas!

"The Dimensional Transport Ray Mark II purposefully observes, regulates, and manipulates the flow and resonation of these dimensions, causing certain universes to "come in tune" and allow transference of bio-electricity and astral signatures from one of the dimensions to the other. Also, the very concept that…"

Keitaro tried to make sure his eyes didn't have too glazed of a look in them or that his jaw wasn't slacked as Su continued to ramble on about the semantics of space-time oscillation between minus and plus variations of the infinite factor on gravity-based travel and the biological inference it would have on various organic bodies as compared to the crystalline structures of inorganic objects. He honestly had no idea what the little technology terror was going on about, but it was clear that she put a great deal of effort and research into this one experiment regardless of the fact that she was spouting things at a level no barely pubescent teen should even try to explore.

He noticed Su was winding down as she began to stumble over her explanation over the vibration of the electrical and magnetic signals of large celestial bodies and decided to put an end to the long-winded explanation. The strained look on her face was simply adorable, something he usually only saw on Shinobu, and he had to stop himself from chuckling when the girl started to scratch her head in frustration.

"It sounds like a pretty neat invention, Su. What are you planning to do with it?"

She perked up at his question. "Think about the possibilities! We could see what may have happened if we had chosen something else. The culture that could have originated from a different decision, or the technology that could have come from it as well; we could learn from them. The results are endless and all it requires is the pull of a trigger and several tons of dark matter!"

Keitaro almost asked what that was, but realized she had probably explained while he had zoned out. It would not do to discourage her with that simple question. He nodded in agreement. "That sounds great!"

"It is, isn't it?! And there's only one little favor I want to ask of you…"

"What is it? I'll do whatever I can to try and help."

"Let me test it on you."

"Sure! You can…Eh?" He opened his eyes from their congenial smile and stared at Su. She had her hands clasped together, a large, hopeful smile plastered across her face. Her eyes were shining and he could see her fingers itching to use the invention. His self-preservation instinct instantly came online, synapses firing wildly to try and find a way out of this suddenly perilous situation. "What did you say?"

"Let me test it on you…please…?"

"Didn't you just say the last one exploded?!"

"Yeah, but this one didn't! I've even had some tests already on inorganic and organic material!"

He stopped rising from his sitting position on the floor. Slowly, he eyed the girl skeptically, his voice rich with suspicion. "Really? And what were they?"

"A rock and an apple," she said in a matter-of-fact tone.

"And now you wanna test it on me?!"

"But I need data on human subjects! I don't know what kind of effects they could have on such a complex organism. The Dimensional Transport Ray Mark II has to be calibrated specifically to each bio-electrical, magnetic, astral and other signal to make sure that the resonation is correct and doesn't result in failure."

"But I don't wanna be a guinea pig!"

"Please, Keitaro! You're the invincible Keitaro! If anyone can withstand a complete rearrangement in their sub-atomic structure, I know you can!"

"Yeah, or turn me into a heaping, steaming pile of ronin goo! No way!"

"Please, please, please! If you let me do this, I promise I won't perform any surprise experiments on you for the next three months!"

That caused him to stop. One, the surprise experiments were really starting to wear on him, both physically and mentally. Having suspicious chemicals and potions forced on you like you were nothing more than a lab rat took its toll after a while. That sentient wart was dangerous when it got its err…"hands" on her positron freeze ray. And the body modifications were no picnic either. He still remembered the last time Su had tried to convince him to let her graft a bionic drill in place of his left hand. He didn't care it would help with his archaeology trips with Seta, he loved lefty!

Two, the fact that Su was actually asking him to do this instead of just forcing it onto him showed that it was really important to her. Normally she would just shove him into a machine and pull the switch, but instead she was actually attempting to broker a deal with him. Just that simple detail allowed Keitaro to make yet another stupid but kindhearted choice in a long succession of such.

He sighed and forced a smile onto his. Standing up, Keitaro nodded. "Fine, if it means that much to you, I'll let you test it on me."

A huge smile blossomed across Su's face. With a loud squeal, she hugged the man around his stomach before bouncing back and effortlessly lifting the large gun. Locking it onto her shoulder, she pivoted on her foot, aiming the barrel at him. She gave a small warning as she snapped a snazzy pair of goggles over her eyes. "Now, if you feel a slight tingling, don't worry, that's normal. It's just your body being shoved through multiple dimensional tears each the size of a molecule. Should be just fine…"

A thought came to Keitaro as his stomach began to produce a feeling of vertigo. "Su, what happened to those previous subjects?"

She flipped a few levers, the gun beginning to hum and pulse with energy. The hose pumped some unknown object into the ray, and a whirling of gears followed. "Hmm? Oh, they got transported."

He knew he would regret asking this question, but he had to know. "Where?"

Su smiled. "Don't know," she stated as she flipped the last safety switch, priming the gun. Her finger tightly gripped the trigger. "Probably to one of those planes of existence. Don't know which one. Haven't figured that part out yet." Her smile took on a maniacal look, her teeth glinting. "Ready?! And fire!"

Keitaro had no time to protest or even think as her index pulled down on the trigger. With what sounded like a large clap of thunder, the gun lurched backwards, something exploding from the barrel. Two separate beams, one pitch black and one blindingly white, erupted towards him. They twirled and mixed together before creating a thick stream of a hue of different grays, and then exploded again like a kaleidoscope, every color imaginable rushing forward to engulf him.

He was slammed against the wall. Stars appeared in his vision, and he could feel as though something was yanking him further backwards, through the wall. And yet it was not as though he crashing through it but rather _into_ it. Little fingers grabbed and pinched, like they were gathering pieces of him one at a time. But all he saw were the colors, and dear god, were they _beautiful_…

Something like a burp echoed through the air and Keitaro faded from view, a scorched outline of his body the only thing remaining.

Su removed her goggles and, seeing her handiwork, pumped a fist into the air as a sign of victory. She had done it! She had made the first dimensional shift! Keitaro would be so proud of both his and her accomplishment! She glanced around, looking for her friend. "Keitaro, Keitaro, where are you?"

A puzzled expression flitted across her face.

"Ronin…?"

And then…realization.

"Uh oh…"

FRTMFRTMFRTMFRTMFRTM

Keitaro looked around at his surroundings. Okay, so he was in the middle of the forest. No big deal. It wasn't like it was the first time he had been catapulted into the forest from either some attack or explosion. And from what he remembered about Su's ray gun, it was definitely some kind of explosion. He absently rubbed his limbs, attempting to rid them of their soreness.

Rationally, he reasoned that Su's test had been a bust. Instead of transporting him to another dimension, she had instead created a new type of highly destructive weapon, one that Japan's military would easily find in violation of the Geneva Convention or any other weapons ban. However…

He glanced around as he stood up. He didn't recognize any of these trees. With the frequency that he crashed on top, into, and through them, Keitaro was able to recognize and properly identify any indigenous species that live around Hinata-sou or the town. However, he didn't recognize any of them. As far as he knew, this specific type of deciduous foliage was foreign to his home's soil, not to mention oversized, neon colored caterpillars.

He blinked. Looking down, Keitaro saw what indeed appeared to be a very large, brightly yellow caterpillar. It was about as long as his arm and twice as thick, two large horns on either end of it. It stopped bumping its head against his leg, as though it was trying to get his attention, turning its face towards his. Two large beady eyes and a pink clown-like nose was planted firmly on its face. It tilted its head to the side as it balanced on its torso, no apparent limbs to keep it steadied except for small pink balls on either side of its segmented body.

"Weedle? Wee, wee…dle."

"Gah!" Keitaro jumped back, flying onto his ass when he stumbled over a small rock. He stared in shock and amazement at the creature in front of him. What the hell was it? "What…what is it?" he mumbled to himself. Caterpillars that huge didn't exist in Japan. Hell, caterpillars that large didn't exist anywhere on Earth! So what the hell was this thing in front of him?!

The thing tilted its head again and inched forward, crawling on its stomach. "Weedle wee weedle wee." What kind of sound was it making? Was it like a dog's bark or cat's meow? But he couldn't see any mouth, so where was it producing the sound from? "Weedle." The thing stopped in front of him again.

Keitaro hesitantly moved his hand towards the creature. It didn't move, only watched him. With a slight poke, he prodded the thing on the side of its head. With an almost inaudible cry, the creature reared up and fell onto its back, baring its belly to the skies. Keitaro jerked at its movements but summoned up his courage again and scratched where he supposed its head met its torso.

"Weeeeedleeeee!"

He jumped when it shouted. However, instead of attacking, it looked at him plaintively, as though asking for more. He returned to his ministrations, scratching the creature here and there. Every once in a while through its squirming, it let out another soft cry of 'weedle!,' so Keitaro could only guess his previous assumptions were right.

This was so weird. First Su blasts him and now he was tickling something out of a video game or anime. He took his free hand and pinched his cheek sharply.

"Ouch!" He softly rubbed the sore flesh. "Guess this isn't a dream after all." He looked down at the insect-like being which was writhing in complete bliss. "And what are you exactly you weird, little thing?" Kaietaro allowed a smile to emerge from his lips. Oh well, at least it was cute, in weird sort of way.

However, his smile disappeared when the caterpillar cried out again, raising its head, and spitting out some sort of gooey white substance, covering Keitaro's face and head in it. He lurched back, scrabbling at the mess on him. He managed to get most of it off, but a lot of it was still stuck in his hair. He groaned and shivered involuntarily. "Crap, I hope this isn't what I think this is…"

It was then that the shiver that was traveling up and down his spine multiplied. A loud buzzing was growing behind him, and the caterpillar in front of him was balancing on its tail, looking as though it knew what the sound was. Turning around with no small amount of trepidation, Keitaro found himself face to face with an army of bees.

Bees the size of human children. With stingers bigger than his head. On their butts. And both hands.

They did not seem particularly thrilled to see him.

He let out a small 'eep.' "You have _got_ to be _shitting_ me."

They weren't. The buzzing became even louder and started to carry a heavy tone of malice and anger. Keitaro took a step back, looking over his shoulder to see what the caterpillar was doing. He watched in shock as it simply looked at him then the bees then him again. With an imperceptible shrug, it crawled over to the bees as one of them disengaged from the pack to land and look it over. It buzzed as it searched for any injuries before giving a signal to the rest of the pack. They focused their attention back on Keitaro.

"Oh, come _on!_" They were the caterpillar's siblings-parents-family…? They weren't even the same species!

Unfortunately they didn't care, signified by the one closest to him jabbing forward with one of its giant hand-needles. Instinctively he bent his body to the left, easily dodging the fine point. After a year of being chased around by an arguably crazy sword-wielding girl with strong feelings of misandry he had gained a formidable set of reflexes. Although he still couldn't avoid all of her attacks, he managed to do so for a good amount of them. For once, he was actually glad he went through life-threatening attacks on a daily basis. Then he was sad. Then he was scared.

The bees were coming at him again. Twice as fast.

The attacks continued from the giant bees, several attacking at once, sometimes from all directions. Keitaro's danger sense had been sharply honed from his life at Hinata-sou. Because of it, he managed to avoid a lot of nasty puncture wounds. He heaved a giant breath of air as he tumbled to the side of one of the creatures attacking him. It was then that it happened.

One of the bee's stingers began to glow. From experience, Keitaro realized that when things began to glow, it usually meant something very bad was about to happen regardless of what was glowing. His fears were realized when the bee's stingers exploded, small stingers racing at him in streams and chunks. He hit the ground, watching as the miniature shots plowed into the tree behind him, ripping the bark to pieces. He paled. If that hit him…well, it wouldn't be pretty.

Which meant only one thing –

"_RUN AWAY! RUN AWAY!"_

The young man took off with a dash, running through the underbrush as though he was on fire. The creatures followed, shooting off the stinger bombs every once in a while. The forest held a symphony of terrified screams, angry buzzing…and several trees smacking the ground as they were knocked over.

For Keitaro, this was turning out to be a very, very bad day.

FRTMFRTMFRTMFRTMFRTM

Mt. Moon was a glorious example to pokémon history as it housed not only a wondrous variety of pokémon but also the mystical moon stones said to have come from a meteorite that crashed at the site eons ago. It acted as a barrier between the towns of Pewter and Cerulean, and even to this day not a single person has managed to climb its vast heights and claim the top as their own.

However, what most people didn't know was that it was also home to possibly the rarest material in not only all of the Kanto region but perhaps the world. The creation crystal, the amber of life and the primordial goop that gave birth to all pokémon. It had stayed there for millennia, waiting to be dug up, waiting to bestow its wonders upon those that deserved it.

The one that held the creation crystal could be considered the most powerful person in the world. With it and its ability to nurture, manipulate, and force evolutionary changes in pokémon that even the rarest of evolutionary stones couldn't, it was truly what could be considered as the alchemy stone of pokémon.

Of course, this led to many uncouth and undesirable people wanting to hold it for their own. The group that had finally discovered its resting place, unfortunately, belonged to such a type of people. Unfortunately for them, they were the sort of people that strictly adhered to the plans that they created.

Plans never stood up to snuff when life was involved.

With a crash, a large stone wall crumbled to pieces, bits of clay and dirt filtering through the air. The stones bounced off each other, rolling to a stop farther into the cavern. A large rotund shadow waddled through the hole made, shoving boulders that still blocked the entrance aside with large, azure arms. It sneezed once, muttering, "Blastoise blast."

"About time," a voice muttered flatly. A bright beam of red light shot out from the hole, engulfing the pokémon and returning it from whence it came. The same voice coughed as a figure climbed into the cavern. Short blonde hair was covered in dust and grime matched by a crimson-colored outfit of jacket and pants trimmed with gold, a small multi-colored crystal drawn over the heart. He coughed again, looking around. Blue eyes gazed coldly, showing no emotion, nothing. Seeing what was in the cavern, he gave a sharp whistle on his fingers.

The man was soon joined by a woman, her short red hair done up in twin buns. Her outfit was customized to look like a Chinese dress, the hem stopping at the knees and a slit running almost all the way to her hips, the sleeves removed to show her slender arms. She grinned at the sight, leaning against her partner with one arm on his shoulder. "Well, would you look at that," she grinned, her voice husky and raspy at the same time, like a lifetime smoker. "Ain't ya happy, Jack? We were the ones who found it after all this time." He looked at her with a sharp look and shoved her arm off before walking back to the entrance. She crossed her arms and pouted. "Yer no fun…"

"Jasmine is right, Jack. You must revel in this momentous occasion."

The two turned to see a middle-aged man carefully make his way over the rubble with the help of a lovely brunette in a three piece suit. He waved her off with a smile, and she bowed before directing the multitude of men and woman who were filing into the cavern, carrying various scientific equipments with them before setting them down in the appointed spots.

Jasmine gave a short salute to the man. "Professor Ptolemy, we are pleased to report we have discovered the resting place of the creation crystal."

The man glanced at her, his balding head of brown and gray bobbing up and down as he maneuvered his way around the rubble, his polished mahogany cane glinting slightly. Only this old and his bones were already creaking and his hair was abandoning him for greener pastures. Gray eyes bore into the woman, and she flinched as she saw something deep and unknown flashing through his pupils. And then it was gone, replaced by a grandfatherly smile. He reached out and gave her arm a squeeze. It was firm, belying a strength that the man did not look to own. She suppressed a shudder when he looked at her more closely and then a sigh of relief as he patted her shoulder with another smile and walked away.

The man scared her. The top research scientist in their organization…and perhaps the real brain and muscle of Team Rune, Plato Ptolemy. He was a genius in the field of pokémon evolution, able to delve into the very DNA of their evolutionary paths and traits. But that genius was tempered with a wit and wisdom that few possessed. His personality made him even more dangerous, switching from a tired old man to a man possessed. Only fools went up against him, and she had heard rumors of those that had gone…missing when they dared to either undermine his authority or badmouth his abilities. And his charisma…the man could convert even the staunchest of critics…and he had. Nearly every single member of their organization was either under his thumb or close to someone who was.

The person of her thoughts stared at the cavern. It was about fifty meters in diameter, the concave walls reaching to a point only a few meters up. In the center was a collection of stalactites, the very center one reaching down the furthest. Water dripped from them onto a small upraised boulder in the very center of the cavern. From years of the water dripping onto it, from years of erosion, the boulder had taken the shape of an altar, square with the corners rounded off – a natural altar from eons of a watchful, everlasting caretaker.

However, it was what was on the altar that truly excited the man. A crystal the size of his fist, almost perfect spherical in shape except for a small outcrop that twisted around itself like a spire, was perched on what looked like two hands holding it to the heavens. It seemed impossible, but the altar had formed these hands from nothing, from this simple chunk of granite. It gave off a faint glow, one that seemed to hold every color imaginable. His eyes shined, his hands reaching out for it.

"The creation crystal," he murmured with awed reverence. "The most basic form of life condensed into physical form, the key to my research, my dreams." It was right in front of him, merely a few inches from his grasping fingertips. And all it would take would be a couple more inches. One more. A centimeter. And now…

The cavern exploded. Debris launched all over the place, knocking the organization members down and causing Ptolemy to stumble and fall backwards. From an upper corner of the cavern the granite collapsed, and a screaming mass erupted from the hole, shrieking through the cave before colliding with the altar. Ptolemy watched in horror as the creation crystal flashed before being absorbed into the figure.

His dreams! His ambitions! No!

Keitaro moaned in agony. Oh lord, his whole _body_ was killing him! He had finally escaped the giant bee monsters, his unrivalled stamina leaving them in the proverbial dust fifteen miles back before realizing he had lost them. And then, upon coming to that rockface, decided to hide in one of the many small tunnels that littered its sides. Surely there would be nothing wanting to attack him there, right?

The large rock with a face and weight-lifter arms disagreed. It had found him curled up in the fetal position and, deciding to let off some steam, gave chase. Keitaro made it through several different and pitch-black tunnels before tripping over another one of the rock monsters. It repaid the favor by punching through a wall…by punching him through _several_ walls.

And now he had smacked his head against something sharp. It felt like all the hangovers in his life had come back at once, smashing through his skull to determine who was the greatest pained-inducing migraine of all. He groaned, hands running over his face and temples. He paused when he felt his skin puckered around a rather smooth spot in the middle of his forehead. It was round but sank into his head. There was no way it was a bruise or lump, he'd had enough of those to recognize the injury instinctively.

Groaning again, he chose to look around his environment. He stopped when he saw about two dozen people staring back at him, fear evident in their faces. Wait, were they scared of him? Sure, he bet they were surprised when he came crashing in, but there was no reason to be afraid of him now. His mind whirled at the realization. There were people! He was amongst those that could help him out!

He jumped to his feet, his arms flapping in excitement. "Thank god! You have no idea how happy I am to see other people! Did you know there are monsters running around outside?! They're everywhere! Are they escaped research animals or something. Where am I? Can you tell me where this is? Last thing I knew I was in the middle of the forest and then before that-"

His rambling line of questions were cut off from the slightly shorter and older man in front of him. "Yo…ole…it…"

Keitaro blinked. Eh? "What was that, sir?" he asked politely. He bent over, trying to hear what the man was telling him. "Did you ask me something?"

"You…stole…it…"

"Huh? I stole something?" Keitaro looked around cluelessly. What was the man talking about? He didn't steal anything. Heck, he didn't even know where he was at the moment. How could he have purposefully stolen something when he couldn't even figure that simple detail out?

The others were staring like it was a train wreck in the making. Ptolemy was starting to shake uncontrollably. Was the boy an idiot? Did he know who he was agitating? Or perhaps he just had a death wish? It was well known as to what happened to those who openly angered the scientist. Nightmares were considered dreams compared to what could dish out with that brilliant yet deranged mind of his. Rumors built up like a snowball in an avalanche, and by the point it was done, it was almost impossible to distinguish the exaggerations from the sheer horrible truths.

Keitaro looked at the man in concern. He was shaking like a leaf. Maybe he was sick? If that was the case, he needed to get to a doctor right away. People at his age were susceptible to illnesses, and it didn't take much for them to shove off the mortal coil. "Sir, are you alright? You seem to be-"

He was cut off when Ptolemy lashed out with his cane, catching the boy on the chin with the brass end of it. Keitaro fell back in pain, his arm rubbing at the sore spot while he looked on in surprise. Ptolemy's head shot up, his pupils two pinpoints of darkness and rage. His face was contorted in a look of pure, unadulterated fury. His voice rose in decibels with every word he shouted.

"You stole it! You stole my life's dreams! You stole my life's goal! _You stole my crystal! AND NOW I'LL STEAL YOUR LIFE!"_ He whipped his hand up, signaling the Rune members. "CAPTURE HIM! HE HAS THE CREATION CRYSTAL EMBEDDED IN HIS SKULL! I WANT THAT CRYSTAL! GET IT!"

The Rune members shook themselves out of their stupor, nodding in affirmation, and reaching for something on their belts. Small white and red balls were thrown in the air, exploding in a burst of red light. Then, one by one, a variety of monsters appeared from those bursts of light. Keitaro took a step back. Wait, these people _owned_ and _controlled_ those monsters?

Well, that was it. He was in deep shit.

A sultry giggle broke him from his depression. "Sorry, little boy, but orders are orders. Don't think too bad of us." He glanced at the beautiful redhead. Jasmine winked and blew him a kiss. "'K?" Turning to her monster, a large triangular shaped face with thick stubby limbs detached from its body/face(?) that floated in mid-air and was releasing a vapor mist, she grinned. "Haunter! Give him a nice, long lick followed by hypnosis!"

The pokémon laughed throatily, slapping its disembodied hands together in glee before rushing up to the boy. "Haunter! Haunt!" Before Keitaro could react, a long slimy tongue wiped itself up his face. Suddenly, shivers coursed through his body and it locked up, preventing him from moving an inch. What had just…? "Haunt!" His eyes shot wide open as the pokémon began to wave its hands in a hypnotic fashion. Keitaro found himself becoming sleepier and sleepier.

What was going on? What were these things, and who were these people? It was all so confusi-

He fell to the ground as sleep claimed him. All went black before his head even touched the ground.

FRTMFRTMFRTMFRTMFRTM

Keitaro woke up to the sound of electronic beeping. He blearily opened his eyes. All around him were different devices hooked to other devices. He tried to move his limbs. Feeling resistance, he craned his head down. Shackles latched his arms and legs to a steel operating table. He blinked. Why did this seem so familiar?

The answer blazed through his head. He laughed at the absurdity of it. Of course! He was back in Su's lab! She must have carried him off after the experiment failed and tried her own brand of medicine and care. Well, at least he now knew that everything happened was a dream.

"Monsters and the evil organization that controlled it. Sounds just like some corny kind of action movie. What was I thinking believing it to be real?"

"Oh, it's real, young man. Much more real than you could ever know."

His eyes widening, Keitaro swerved his head to face the origin of the voice. He found it to belong to the old man who had ordered his capture. His jaw dropped at the white lab coat that hung off the older man's wiry shoulders. Ptolemy looked at him with a kind smile, giving a small wave as he pushed down on a foot pedal. The table tilted upward, lifting Keitaro into a standing position. The shackles dug into his flesh, his weight pressing down on the steel holders. Upon stopping, the man took a step back and gave Keitaro a quick glance over. Following his gaze, Keitaro realized he had been stripped down to nothing, only a medical gown covering his shame. He flushed a horrible red. Ptolemy chuckled.

"Never you worry, young man. I am a doctor so you need not hold any concern over any inappropriate happenings occurring."

Keitaro gulped. "Who…who are you?"

The man's expressions went blank before he gave a small laugh. "Excuse me! Where are my manners? My name is Plato Ptolemy, and I am the head researcher for the illustrious Team Rune." He closed his eyes serenely. "May I know what your name is?"

The boy squinted to see better, his missing glasses preventing him from seeing too well. The man seemed very kind at the moment, but Keitaro still remembered the anger and unbridled wrath contained in his eyes as he ordered his capture. He turned his head down and looked at Ptolemy from the corner of his eyes. "Urashima…Urashima Keitaro."

The man tilted his head, wondering at the strange rearrangement of the boy's name. Ah well, perhaps he was from a different region. There were rather strange people outside of Kanto. "Well then, Keitaro, it's very nice to meet you." He walked over to one if the monitoring devices, tapping it lightly. "Now, Keitaro, I'm sure you're wondering just why you're here." Seeing a hopeful look in the boy's eyes, he smiled softly. "You took something that rightfully belongs to me, and I want it back. It's not polite to take other people's belongings."

Keitaro strained against his bindings but they did not shift. "But I don't have anything of yours! I don't even know where I am!"

"Of course you do. You have it on your person right now."

"Huh?"

He tapped on his head. "You have it right here." Seeing the boy's still confused face, he sighed and walked over to a small table that was over to Keitaro's right. Taking something from it, he returned to in front of Keitaro and brought up a small mirror. Raising it to Keitaro's face, his face grew stern. "See? It's right there, right in front of you." Ptolemy's free hand moved forward, pushing away the boy's scruffy bangs.

Keitaro gaped at what he saw. Right in the middle of his forehead, a crystal several centimeters in diameter, reflecting light like a prism, shined back at him. The surrounding area was puckered and looked as though it was badly burned, scar tissues circling the crystal like a border. What the…?

"What…what is it?"

"There's no need for me to tell you. All you need to know it that it's mine and that I want it back." He reached into a sterilized jar and pulled out a pair of surgery gloves. "Unfortunately for you, it will result in your death. Ah well, a few sacrifices are sometimes needed for the greater good, or at least my own good."

"Wait, what?!" Keitaro began to struggle harder against his bonds. He didn't want to die to satisfy the delusions of grandeur for some crazy evil scientist! Even Su never went this far! Su experimented on Keitaro for the fun of it! "Why do you have to kill me?! Why can't you just surgically remove it or something?!"

"Unfortunately for you again, that's not possible." Ptolemy walked out of his sight for a moment before coming back holding up an x-ray sheet. He put in into the light of the operating table's lamp, showing Keitaro. It revealed the interior of his skull. However, what seemed like a spider web traversed in and around where Keitaro's brain was supposed to be. Ptolemy gave a dramatic sigh. "You see, the crystal has completely fused into your body. It has basically melded with your brain and there is no way to remove it without turning your grey matter to grey mush." He shook his head and put a hand to his temple. "It's a pity I couldn't get more data on its conversion to your biological pattern but I am a busy man and I don't have the time to waste. Ah well, at least I'll see what effect your brain's dying electrical signals will have on the crystal's growth."

He turned and picked up a surgical saw. Starting it up, the stainless steel buzzsaw roared to life, anticipating the moment when it would mercilessly cut through bone and flesh. Ptolemy's smile became cruel, the corners of his lips curling up demonically. "Don't worry, you won't feel a thing. After all, the brain has no actual pain receptors. However, you may feel a slight pinching sensation as I cut open your skull."

As the saw loomed closer, Keitaro felt complete and absolute terror bubble up in his brain. No! He still had so much to do! So much that he wanted to do! So much he needed to do! He couldn't die just yet, not to some egomaniacal weirdo!

He still had to get into Tokyo University! He still had to meet his promised girl! He still had to get a girlfriend!

For all that was sacred, he was still a _virgin!_

"NOOOOOOOO!!"

Keitaro's scream reverberated around the room. However, it was no use. The place had been soundproofed even with its quick and crude construction. No matter what happened and no matter what sounds he made, none of it would get through to the uncaring ears and minds that were working outside. After all, it wouldn't do to lower the minions' morale by giving them nightmares of a screaming banshee as his scalp was bisected, now would it?

Ptolemy chuckled. Such a poor foolish, little boy. Ah well, time for the crystal's extraction. He would have all the time in the world to feel guilty after his ambitions were realized. It wasn't as though anything could stop him by this point, right?

His smile slipped. His eyes widened. Ptolemy took a step back.

The creation crystal had begun to glow fiercely, emitting a light that exuded energy. Bursts of light exploded from it, illuminating the entire room syncing up with Keitaro's screams. As he yelled louder and longer, so did the light become brighter and stronger. Prisms of colors and amorphous shapes were thrown up along the walls and ceilings. But then they began to take a clearer, definite form. Ptolemy gasped as he recognized what they were.

So many…

His revelation was distracted when he a rumbling was heard behind him. Ptolemy's eyes widened further as he saw the long line of pokéballs that he kept for research and experimental purposes begin to shake. The small bulbs signifying the pokémon's capture in each of them were blinking rapidly. But that only happened when a pokémon was about to…

In tandem, each of the storage capsules opened, releasing the pokémon that were trapped inside. Over a couple dozen of them erupted from their imprisonment, ecstatic to be free.

Ecstatic and furious for what they had been put through.

And also a bit hungry, but that could wait till later. First that had to show that they were not happy with their previous treatment.

The first to voice its displeasure was a large draconic being. Nearly two meters high with a wingspan the size of Ptolemy, the usually passive Dragonite's face was anything but. Its normally kind eyes were hardened into orbs of ebony, its large teeth flaring when its lips curled back as it growled not a warning, but a promise. Rearing its gargantuan body back, it opened its maw, taking in a deep breath. A small orb of orange energy coalesced within its jaw, gathering more and more momentum as it bound itself tighter and tighter and became bigger and bigger. With a cry of, "Draaaa-GON!," the orb sharpened and narrowed into the form of a highly destructive beam, lancing straight at the doctor and prisoner.

Ptolemy made the smart decision of diving to the side. What point would there be to gain the creation crystal if he was dead or immobilized by a Dragonite's hyper beam? The attack was extremely overpowered as it was, but to be used by one of the rarer breeds of pokémon in the Kanto region…? He wasn't suicidal! Even if the boy was disintegrated by the blast, he was sure that the crystal would survive.

Keitaro had different thoughts. His brain had already fried itself out, and by the time the pokémon appeared he had taken on disturbingly calm view on the current events. _Oh, look, now there's a dinosaur and HOLY SHIT WHAT THE HELL IS THAT?!_

Never mind, his thought processes were back to normal.

Keitaro screamed as the beam smashed into him, breaking the shackles that bound him, the table he was bound to, and several walls behind him that he was thrust through from the resulting explosion. Not to mention several offices, a mess hall, and, for a brief moment, the women's locker room. He felt a vague sense of nostalgia when he heard girls shouting out in surprise when his charred body was flung past them.

Oh yes, the smell of burned clothing and flesh was quite common too. So was the pain. Oh dear gods, the _pain!_

Keitaro shook his head when gravity and friction finally deigned that he stopped. Picking himself up from the skid-mark he had left on the ground from bouncing and sliding several dozen feet, he looked at the destruction wrought.

Okay, there were the couple of tempered titanium doors he was launched through. That was expected. Fire, pandemonium, and panic – that was always nice to know. Various sprinkler alarms were now being set off and he could just make out what seemed like giant organic fire extinguishers putting out the flames. Eww, that was actually kind of gross…

He coughed, puffing out a dense poof of smoke before checking himself over. No real injuries, he had been blown up, shot, punched, kicked, slashed, suplexed, and smashed into the ground at terminal velocity way too many times for this sort of damage to be detrimental to him. But his medical gown was basically incinerated at this point in time. Squawking in embarrassment, he searched around for something, anything.

Oh look, an unconscious Rune member with a full set of clothes. He blinked.

"That'll do."

Relieving the man of his clothes, except for his boxers as Keitaro felt that would be rather eerie and disturbing, he donned the stolen clothes. They were a bit loose on him, but he wasn't shopping, now was he?

Skulking around the base, he managed to avoid most of the large group of Rune members since they were busy trying to do damage control on the destroyed lab and recapture all of the pokémon that had escaped and were currently on a fear/rage-induced rampage. He dodged and planted himself to the side of the hallway when something resembling a rhinoceros completely made of rock barreled down it. It took a quick glance at him but continued to run unimpeded. Keitaro blinked at the look it had given him. It almost seemed…empathetic, like it felt sorry for him?

Shaking his head, he mumbled to himself, "Nothing to do with me. Now…got to find a way out of here…" His face bloomed into a grin when he saw an emergency exit, the neon sign going off. "Perfect!"

He grabbed the door bar and pushed. It swung open, and he jumped out.

Nothing was waiting for him.

He looked down, seeing there was nothing below him but a long drop down a steep rock wall. As he began to fall, gravity claiming him, he saw that multiple holes had been punched through the rockface, and the emergency stairs had been mangled, burned, and torn to little more than scrap metal. Apparently the pokémon's retaliation had reached to outside the base as well. Absently he noted that he was still at the mountain he had crawled into. So their secret base was there. Huh…

He sighed. Well, looked like his new injuries were going to be from severe bodily trauma. At least it was in a new area. Things got a little boring if they were the same all the time.

The rocks he crashed into were all too happy to comply with his wish.

"GAH! OW! DAMNIT! SON OF A BI-"

_WHAM!_

"…mommy…"

FRTMFRTMFRTMFRTMFRTM

"Mime! Mr. Mime!"

"Now, now, Mimey, don't go off too far," Delilah giggled serenely as she watched her pokémon wander off to pick flowers in a small field a little off from the forest that led to Route 1. Mimey was such a polite and sweet pokémon, but he was also such a child at times. It was actually nice at times, since her own child had grown up already so long ago. She missed Ash so much when he was on his pokémon journey, and though he did make sure to phone her regularly during his time gone, she did miss her baby boy so. She always worried that he never had enough underwear; he could be so absentminded at times.

But now he was all grown up, had a steady job as a pokémon master in the International Pokémon League, had a beautiful wife, and was expecting a new addition to the family in a mere few months. Her thoughts traveled to the flaming-headed girl.

Misty was a kind but hardheaded girl. While she never would be as glamorous as he older sisters, the young woman had grown into her own. Her body had filled in a bit, but it was obvious she'd always have a slender figure than her hopeful voluptuous one. Ash didn't seem to mind though, he'd said so enough times. Even so, the relationship between the two was still like that of a couple of kindergarteners. Ash would tease Misty, Misty would retaliate with all of her fury (sometimes a frying pan, sometimes a baseball bat), and things would progress until that little Pikachu of Ash's settled matters by shocking one of them (usually Ash.) Honestly, that had been married for five years now and were expecting the birth of their first child. You'd think they'd have matured some!

Delilah sighed. Well, it was obvious they loved each other. The nights she could hear them in the house Ash had bought for them all to live in proved that. She blushed slightly at the memories. It had been so long since she had had someone of her own. Delilah missed her hubby so much…She was already reaching that cursed halfway mar in her life. Who would possibly take her when she was turning fif-err…middle aged?

She sighed again. At least she could look forward to being the youngest grandmother around. She couldn't wait to spoil the little bundle of joy that was coming rotten!

Her thoughts were broken when she heard the frantic calling of Mimey, and she hurried her pace until she caught up. Slowing down, she asked him, "What's wrong, Mimey?"

"Mr., Mr. Mime!" the pokémon shouted, his face a look of worry and panic, waving one hand around wildly while jabbing the other at the ground behind a bush.

Delilah followed his hand and looked. "Oh dear!"

There was a battered, bruised, and thoroughly exhausted Keitaro. He had passed out just hours before, having run the entire way from Mt. Moon to the outskirts of Palette Town in only a couple of days. And he had been chased by those same giant monster bees again! By that point he was tired, somewhat dehydrated, and extremely hungry. He had no idea where he was running, his lack of glasses and knowledge of his position or surroundings only multiplying the trouble. It wasn't surprising that unconsciousness finally claimed him.

Delilah's surprised look melted into a determined one. She recognized that uniform. Everyone did. It was hard not to know of the infamous Team Rune's exploits. But this boy was in trouble, and she could not in good conscious leave him alone. She turned to the Mr. Mime, her mouth set in a neutral line. "Mimey, if you could?"

"Mime!" he nodded. Grabbing Keitaro, the pokémon lifted him over his shoulder, staggering a bit from the weight before straightening out. Delilah nodded before walking back to town and home, Mimey trailing after her, Keitaro bouncing every so often.

FRTMFRTMFRTMFRTMFRTM

"Urgh…"

Keitaro stirred from his sleep. He could instantly tell his surroundings were different. For one thing, he was on something that was both very soft and warm and comfy. He wriggled around, sighing contently. Ah…so nice. Second, there was a light breeze swirling around him, carrying a soft and pleasant scent in the air that tickled his nose. It smelled like potpourri or something to that effect. Third, and this was most important, sounds of nature and distant talking could be heard. It wasn't cold and sterile like it had been back in those people's lab.

"Oh my, are you awake already?"

Keitaro blinked, staring above him. Through heavily unfocused eyes, he could make out a feminine face, long brown hair pulled into a ponytail. He tried to remember where he had last heard that way of talking. "Mu…Mutsumi?"

"Mutsumi? Who's that?"

His eyes widening, Keitaro pushed himself up into a sitting position, knocking the blanket off of his body. He squinted, his vision clearing up a bit. No, it wasn't the watermelon-loving Okinawa Rose. This was a middle-aged lady, very beautiful with only a few wrinkles showing signs of her age. Clear brown eyes stared back at him, and the woman smiled. Keitaro backed up against the head of the bed. "Who are you?"

The woman smiled congenially. "My name is Delilah Ketchum. And you are?"

"Urashima Keitaro." When recognizing the way this conversation was going, Keitaro put two and two together. Immediately afterward, his face froze in fright and he bolted back, slamming against the wall the bed was positioned against. He wrapped his arms around his head, trying to make himself look as small as possible. "You can't have my brain!" he shouted defiantly in a squeaky voice. "I might not use it much, and it's kind of dusty, but it's mine! You can't have it! I need my brainy!"

Delilah was surprised by his exclamation. After all, what use would she have for his brain? He must still be a little muddled from his rest. She allowed her face to become calm again before sidestepping the question. "I don't know why I would want your brain, but you seem to be a bit confused. I found you passed out near the edge of town and brought you back here to rest."

"You…found me?" He vaguely remembered seeing a town before he passed out from exhaustion. Noticing the lady looking at him in concern, he blushed. "Urm…thank you for taking care of me," he mumbled softly. He then noticed he was in a set of pajamas and boxers. His blush grew even worse, turning his face a lovely scarlet. "Uhhh…"

She looked confused at his embarrassment for a second before realizing why. "Don't worry, I had Mimey change your clothes for you. He's a male Mr. Mime, so it should be okay."

Keitaro sighed in relief before his expression reverted to its previous one. "What's a Mr. Mime?"

She tilted her head. "Why…he's a pokémon."

"Poké…mon?"

Her face scrunched up a bit. "Don't you know what a pokémon is? Oh dear!" He rose to her feet from the chair, her hands clasped in front of her. "You don't have amnesia, do you? That would be terrible! Maybe from that injury on your head?"

Keitaro's hands flew up to his forehead, finding that it was wrapped in a couple layers of bandages. It was then that he remembered. It was there…That…What had that crazy doctor called it? The creation crystal? And now the monsters had a name… pokémon? This was all starting to get very complicated…

However, he now had to worry about this woman. She seemed nice enough but Keitaro had become ultra weary ever since appearing in this place. For all he knew it was just an act to lull him into a false sense of security. He laughed softly and put a hand behind his neck.

"Er…no, sorry, no amnesia here. I'm new around here, so I don't know all the new… pokémon yet."

"Oh…that's good." Delilah put her hand to her chest and sighed in relief. "I was worried for a second there. It's a good thing you're all right."

"Mr. Mime!"

The two turned to see Mimey in the doorway, gesturing for Delilah to follow him. Keitaro squinted at him. So this was a Mr. Mime…a pokémon? Well, he could see where the name came from. The creature looked like a clown with its hectic color scheme and marionette-like body.

Delilah smiled at her friend before putting her attention back on Keitaro. "Well, Mimey says I have to get back to work. My son and his wife should be getting home in a couple of hours, so we can talk more when they do. Please rest a bit more, Keitaro. I would hate to see you run yourself ragged again." She gave a quick bow before exiting. "Goodbye."

Keitaro watched as she and the pokémon left, waiting for their footsteps to recede before he jumped out of bed, throwing the covers off and ran for the window. Looking outside, he saw he was on the second floor. Well, that was easy enough. He eased himself out, dropping down to the ground. Although the woman had taken care of him, he couldn't stay there. He had to find a way back home. Looking carefully, he ran through the streets of Palette, making his way to the outskirts.

However, the longer he ran the slower he became. Eventually he stopped entirely, halting on a small hill that overlooked the town and some apple trees. He paused then sighed and sat down. Who was he kidding? He was lost, trapped in some alternate dimension with no idea where he was, what was going on, and especially no clue how to return home. Would he be stuck here forever, caught amongst freakish mutants and evil cults?

"Naru…Mutsumi…Su…Shinobu…Motoko…Kitsune…Haruka…Even Sarah…"

Was he never going to see them again, their smiling faces, their playful actions? Was he bound to forever be separate from them, to have them fade from his memories like the ebb of the tide? Were they going to search for him, be worried for, or forget about him? Would he ever know that joy again and was that a _flying cat?_

His eyebrows rose when he saw the small creature floating a foot or so off the ground. It was rather similar to a cat with pink fur, large hind legs like a rabbit, brilliant blue eyes, and a long whip of a tail that ended in the shape of the aptly named cattail weed. It appeared to be dancing on the wind, but it stopped when it noticed Keitaro watching it. It cocked its head and swerved to the left. Keitaro followed it. It swerved to the right, Keitaro doing the same. Cocking its head to the other side, it approached him, its dangling legs looking like they were bouncing off of something. Coming within a foot, it notched its tail towards him. "Myu?"

Keitaro gulped. Another one? Hesitantly, remembering what happened last time, he raised a hand to mimic it. The pink pokémon saw his actions and let out what he thought was a giggle. It then jumped forward, coming up in front of him before gently pressing its head against his. It was only for a moment, but Keitaro felt immense warmth spreading throughout his body and he could feel the crystal in his skull light up, shining through the thin gauze. He heard a voice in his head. A feminine, lilting voice that sounded like the tinkling of a bell.

_You seem like a fun person. I think I like you._

His head whipped side to side, trying to find who had said it. The only being there was that cat-like pokémon. It giggled again at his bewildered expression. "Myu myu myu."

"You?"

It responded to his inquiry by leaping in front of him again and, with a movement that reminded him of that one time with Tama-chan, gave him a small, gentle peck on the nose. Keitaro involuntarily blushed at the intimate action.

"Hah?!"

He fell back but was stopped halfway when something pushed up against him. Looking behind, he saw a thin sheet of what looked like chewed bubblegum. It then spread, stretching over him into a bubble. He grew panicked as it completely enveloped him. While he could still see outside, it was a firm barrier. He looked around, hoping for help. What he found was that same small pokémon staring back at him with a mischievous look on its face. He recognized that look. It was the same one Kitsune, Su, or Sarah wore before they played a trick on him. He braced himself for the shock.

"Myu!"

With a fierce kick, it smashed the bubble with its powerful hindquarters, sending Keitaro into an uncontrolled roll down the hill. His screams and yells were muted by the bubble, so all that could be heard was a slightly high-pitched buzzing sound as he tumbled over grass and rocks. His wild ride was stopped when he crashed into the grove of trees, the bubble popping into nonexistence in the process.

Keitaro lolled his head to one side, his back propped against the wall, his butt firmly planted on the ground. That was _not_ something he wanted to go through again. He groaned. Today was turning out to be a _very_ bad day. It was a whole new world he lived in, and it treated him just as kindly as his original one did.

Several apples, dislodged by his collision, fell from the branches of the tree, knocking on his head with a dull 'thump.' He winced as each one hit.

A very bad day indeed…

A/N: Well, that's the end of the first chapter. It's very long as I spent a lot of time trying to get into Keitaro's emergence and assimilation into the pokémon world. Hopefully you people got a kick out of it. The next chapter will be shorter to help balance things out. In any case, what was I smoking when I cam up with this idea? Keitaro and pokémon? Well, take a bunch of super monsters with super powers and then throw in a boy who has nigh invulnerability. What do you get? One tortured main character and lots of giggles for me. But at least I got out of my slump, right? That counts for something. Hopefully this one will continue, as I plan on having fun with Keitaro becoming a pokémon trainer. Yes, you heard that right, a pokémon trainer. In case you were wondering, this fic takes place 20 years after the beginning of the Pokémon series, so Ash/Misty are 30, Brock is 35, and so on and so forth. This will give you a heads-up on things. Also Keitaro will be the only Love Hina character here. Everyone else is either from Pokémon or an OC. If you have any questions, ask away. I'll be happy to answer them. Please Review, and remember, no flames!

_Next Chapter: So You Wanna Be a Master?_


	2. So You Wanna Be a Master?

Disclaimer: No, I don't own Love Hina or Pokémon. Akatmatsu and Tajiri beat me in steel-cage match for the rights. I still have the scars to prove it. The pain…

**From Ronin to Master****  
Chapter 2: So You Wanna Be a Master?  
By Irritus 185**

A couple hours later and Keitaro began the trudge back to town. He had spent a majority of the time looking for the strange, pink pokémon that had shoved him down the hill in the equivalent of a bubblegum bubble, but it had disappeared just as quickly as it had appeared. The rest of the time he had tried to find his way back to Delilah's house. As cautious as he was, Keitaro was in an entirely new place, a new dimension no less, and having at least familiar ground was very welcome to him.

It wasn't easy considering he was still half-blind without his corrective lenses and that he hadn't really been paying attention when he was running away earlier. Like Hinata Hot Springs, Palette Town wasn't the biggest of villages, but everything was so spread out it was killing his legs to try one building only to realize that it wasn't the right one.

Still, he had noticed a few things while he was walking around the town. For one thing, he didn't notice any normal animals. Or at least normal by his original world's standard. They all seemed to be of the pokémon variety, if the almost human and certainly sentient faces attested to. He wondered if it was some sort of evolutionary split. Biology was one of his easier subjects, and he had always been fascinated by the various evolutionary trees that all of Earth's life had gone through. Most of the pokémon he had seen had at least some sort of physical resemblance to his world's animals. There were that caterpillar, those bees, the dinosaur/dragon, that pink cat/rabbit; he had even seen ones that were almost identical to birds and rats, though comically enlarged in proportion.

Two, there seemed to be wild and domestic versions of the pokémon. He supposed that made sense. Having an entire world of enslaved animals couldn't end well for the general ecosystem. Absently he wondered if there were plant versions as well. Well, it made sense if he thought about it.

The adventurous spark in Keitaro was being lit the more he thought of his situation. Ever since he had started working with Seta, the recessive parts of his psyche had begun to be released. Archeology was fascinating, and just thinking about it made his blood boil and his eyes sparkle. And now he was in a world never seen, with beings no one had ever imagined existed. It was the greatest discovery in the history of mankind!

His enthusiasm dropped like a rock a second later. A discovery? For who? It was obvious the people of this world thought that pokémon were commonplace. And they were. It was only to people of his world that they were a rare finding.

The morose realization made Keitaro's mood plummet even further. He really was stuck here, huh? He was already thinking about ways to find out more about these pokémon. Was he really that adamant about staying? Was his life back home really that bad?

_I mean, sure, I get hit a lot and my personal account has been drained more than Kitsune's liquor stash and a lot of the time my work at Hinata-sou is taken for granted and they make fun of my ronin status and my advances on Naru are either ignored or punished and any time I make an advance on any other girl I'm punished by the same person who previously ignored me and I'm used like a personal punching bag and blamed for anything that goes wrong and…and…_

Keitaro's eyes widened. No more beatings, no more misplaced blame, no more beatings, no more misunderstood situations, no more beatings, no more beatings, no more beatings…!

"Yeah! I'm finally free!" He jumped and kicked his feet together. "I'm finally free of that torture! I no longer have to worry about every action I take, every choice I take, or every step I stake! I'm finally free!"

However, he probably still should have worried about every step he staked as since he wasn't playing attention, he kicked and uprooted a large stone from the trail, sending it flying and into a heavily overgrown field. Keitaro didn't notice it smacking another creature. He didn't notice the creature was in a foul mood already and that rock was the final straw. He didn't notice it when it took flight, its hawk-like body scruffy and looking like it belonged to a street gang. He _did_ notice when a strong gust of wind appeared and something like a missile rammed into his temple, bowling him down head over heels.

He gave a shout of pain, it being matched by a shriek of anger. Looking up, Keitaro saw another pokémon staring at him as it hovered above his laid-out position, flapping its wings to stay aloft. A vengeful glint was apparent in its eyes, and Keitaro immediately knew what was going to happen next.

"OW! GAH! STOP IT! WATCH IT! EEK!"

Keitaro ran like a madman, his arms covering every soft, fleshy part he could find as the Spearow pecked furiously at him. It had to repay the human that had foolishly thrown that rock at its head. That had hurt! It was too bad its brethren weren't around to help, but with the way that the human wasn't fighting back, it was easy to say that he wouldn't need them. With a crow of victory, it renewed its attack with new enthusiasm.

Keitaro cried silently as the bird pokémon continued to sink its beak into him. It wasn't that it hurt that much. It really didn't. The bruises and cuts would disappear swiftly and without marks. What did scare him was the creature's demeanor. Did all pokémon have the temper of Naru or Motoko? Nearly all of the pokémon he had come across attacked for one small discretion or another. Were they really that easy to anger or provoke? And why did all attack _him?!_

Seriously, this was getting frickin' annoying! And, for just good measure, the _pain!_

Keitaro's anger began to peak as the Spearow jabbed him in a particularly tender spot. He spun around, and with a speed that the pokémon did not expect, grabbed a hold of its leg with an iron grip. Like before with Motoko and her sword strike, he had managed to stop its attack. It wasn't surprising to him; these pokémon weren't nearly as fast as the kendo girl. A bird that barely moved except to flap its wings couldn't hold a candle to her speed when she was homicidal, which Keitaro knew from many experienced instances.

"Now," he growled. For some reason he felt much angrier than normal. Usually he would just take the punishment, but for some inexplicable reason he felt as though anger and aggression was trickling into his system from no known source. He didn't dwell on it too much. Right now he had more important matters to tend to. "You are going to stop it," he ground between clenched teeth at the belligerent and struggling bird. "And you are going to stop NOW!"

"Pickachu! Thunderbolt!"

"Huh?"

An arc of lightning raced through the air, striking the Spearow and lighting it up like the Fourth of July. Unfortunately, due the laws of physics and other sciences, Spearows are conductive to electricity, and apparently so are Keitaros. With what felt like he had stuck his finger into the industrial grade thunderstorm creator Su had made, Keitaro could literally feel his badly-need-of-a-cut hair standing up on end. The feeling persisted for another second or so before the electricity dissipated into the surrounding environment.

The Spearow lurched its foot out of Keitaro's grasp with a frightened and submissive squawk, flying off from its previous victim with the sudden urge not to tangle with him anymore. Keitaro immediately felt his fiery temper leave him, residual feelings of fear left in his system.

He coughed out a puff of smoke. And crispy, extra crispy.

"Ah, jeeze, Pikachu! How many times have I got ta tell ya to turn down the output of your electric attacks?"

"Pika pi! Chu!"

"Well, yeah, I suppose I was the one ta make you that powerful in the first place. But still-!"

"Oh, just ignore him, Pikachu! You know how Ash is an idiot at times."

"Aww…That's mean…"

Keitaro turned to where the arguing voices were. He saw three figures, two human and one that decidedly wasn't. He coughed out another plume of smoke. So now these things could harness the elements? What next, space and time? He chose to ignore them as he brushed the charred pieces of cotton on his clothes. He hoped Delilah wouldn't yell at him too much for ruining the pajamas. He didn't want the person who had helped him without thanks to think badly of him. It wouldn't be polite!

As he worried and fretted over the clothes, the three who had been arguing noticed he was still there and walked over. The man who owned the Pikachu approached him first. His eyes narrowed slightly before returning to normal. Those pajamas seemed really familiar to him…He shook his head. "Hey, you okay? Sorry for shocking ya. I didn't realize that you grabbed that Spearow before Pikachu attacked it."

Keitaro looked at him. The man was a bit taller than him, his frame that of an athlete. He had a nice muscle array, but not that of a body builder. Instead it was a lithe, almost streamlined assortment, accentuated by the tight-fitting jeans and shirt on his body. Brown eyes, black hair and a wide smile complimented his face, with a thin line of stubble around his chin and jaw.

Keitaro blinked. So he was the one that had indirectly and inadvertently shocked him? Well, at least the man had apologized for what he did. That was not something he was used to. He gave a weak smile before answering.

"Don't worry about it," he said. He didn't know exactly what to say after that but decided to do his best to assuage the man's concerns. "It wasn't that bad. I've had worse shocks than that lots of time."

Ash grinned, knowing exactly how the younger man felt. "So, you've spent a lot of time around electric pokémon, too? Yeah, they really know how ta light up someone."

"Pikachu."

Ash raised his hands in a placating manner to the pokémon that rode on his shoulder. It wouldn't be good if he angered his friend while he had a perfectly open connection to his body. Pikachu could really do some damage if he didn't bother to regulate his attacks. "I'm joking, I'm joking."

Keitaro then took a look at the pokémon. Pikachu resembled a large, chubby, very yellow mouse. Its tail was in the shape of a lightning bolt and a pair of red circles was planted on the pokémon's cheeks. To be honest, he found the little thing to be quite cute, much more so than any of the other pokémon he had come across, though that pink one definitely beat it out. However, he did realize this was a very powerful creature if that shock attack had proved anything.

The man's other human companion snorted in playful jest. "You should be careful there, Ash. Pikachu's gotten a lot wiser to your shenanigans with age. You, on the other hand, have only seemed to regress over time." She put a hand to her mouth to try and hide the fond smile, as it would only act against her joke.

Keitaro shifted his attention to the woman. She was indeed very pretty, but Keitaro still thought his own tenant were even more beautiful. Misty had certainly grown up. Her womanly charms had filled in, breaking her from her childish figure. Her red, nearly orange hair had grown longer, reaching to almost her waist, and was braided the entire length. Her hair still clashed with her eyes, the same color as her hometown, but it was because of that that she really like her eyes. Loose jeans that matched Ash's and a large blouse complimented her, but Keitaro could see the rotund swelling of her belly signifying the life that was growing inside of her.

Ash pouted, aware of her tease. He had grown a lot since he first started out at as a pokémon trainer, becoming a passionate but still collected person that many people respected and admired, but there were still times he reverted to his more childish days. His time spent around Misty only increased the frequency of them. Ash turned his nose up. "That wasn't very nice, Misty."

Misty sighed and rolled her eyes, walking over and grabbing him by the cheek. Pulling, she chuckled, "I'm just playing you, dear."

He sighed when she released, rubbing at the spot. "It's still mean though," he murmured like a petulant child."

"Pika pi, pika!" The electric mouse exclaimed with a smile as it patted him on the head in a condescending manner.

Ash laughed sarcastically before turning back to Keitaro. "So, are ya new here? I haven't seen you around before"

Keitaro raised a hand to the back of his neck. "I…guess so. Yeah, you could say I'm new here."

Ash nodded. "Palette Town is a really nice place. Though I was born her so I might be a bit biased." He laughed. Keitaro smiled softly. He liked this guy. He reminded Keitaro of Seta a bit with his easygoing attitude. "Anyway, you seem a bit lost. Do you know where you're going? We could help you if ya want."

Misty added her two cents in. "Were you looking for the clinic?" Keitaro stared at her strangely. She pointed at his outfit. "People don't normally walk around barefooted with just their pajamas on. And your head is all bandaged as well."

His hands reaching up for his head, Keitaro realized that pretty much anyone would assume that about him. Anyone would also wonder just why someone who was obviously injured would be walking around without a care in the world. He almost thought to remove the bandage to avoid such confusion, but remembered that there would be even more questions if people saw the crystal that was embedded snuggly in his skull. Shaking away that idea, he simply looked at the tow, poking his fingers together.

"Er…no, I'm not looking for the clinic."

"Then what are you doing out here?"

"Err…" They looked at him expectantly, suspicion slowly beginning to crawl into their expressions. If he didn't say anything quickly there would be a lot of questions that he wasn't ready for and didn't know how to answer yet. So instead he decided to throw them off track. "Um, yeah! I am looking for someone. She helped me out earlier."

Misty's face drained itself out of suspicion, replacing it with helpful curiosity. "Oh? Who is it? We might be able to help you find her."

"Um, I think her name was Delilah Ketchum."

The three looked at each other with an unbelieving expression on their faces. Keitaro grew nervous when they failed to say anything for a few seconds. "Did…did I say something wrong?"

Misty looked at him with a suspicious and protective look on his face. "How do you know Delilah?"

Keitaro blushed at her scrutiny and stuttered, "I…I was in some trouble, and she…she helped me out." He pulled at the scruff of his pajama top. "These are something she lent to me."

Ash snapped his fingers together as his face lit up. "I _knew_ I recognized those pajamas! They're mine!"

Keitaro froze. "Huh?"

"Delilah Ketchum is my mom. Those pajamas are a spare pair of mine." He neglected to mention he was the one who had picked them out. The pictures of pokémon spread all over the cloth was not something he wanted to confess he preferred to a stranger.

"So…you're the son and his wife she mentioned earlier?" Keitaro murmured, pointing at the couple.

Ash raised a hand and pointed his thumb at his chest. "Yup, I'm Ash Ketchum."

Misty smiled and entwined her arm into Ash's, pulling him closer. "And I'm Misty Waterflower-Ketchum."

"Pika pi!"

Ash scratched the pokémon's ears, eliciting a pleased and happy 'ka!' as a response. "And this is my friend, Pikachu."

"Pi-KA-chu."

Instinctively, Keitaro gave a short bow before realizing what he was doing. Old, ingrained habits died hard, even if he was in a completely new culture. He laughed anxiously and rubbed the back of his neck. "Nice to meet you. I'm Urashima Keitaro."

Ash nodded in a friendly manner. "Well, it's nice to meet you, Keitaro." He recognized the way of introduction from his travels to the other regions. Keitaro lightly resembled his associates from the Fuchsia Gym, including their speech patterns. He placed a hand over Misty's to keep it in place (she was pregnant; he had to make sure she was okay while walking) and nodded at the younger man. "If you want, we can take you there. We were heading back home anyway."

Misty nodded. "I'm sure Delilah will have lunch ready by the time we get there. You should join us." She sighed and put a hand to cheek. "It's too bad. I was hoping that I'd be able to try my hand at today's meal."

Ash and Pikachu froze, their eyes widening in abject horror. Misty…cooking…? The horror, the horror…

Unfortunately for them, Misty noticed. Grabbing each one's cheek with pinched fingers, she growled, ignoring the sparks that were escaping from Pikachu's cheeks. "And just _what_ is so bad about _my_ cooking?"

"Misty, your food is toxic!"

"Pi pikachu!"

"It isn't _that_ bad!"

"The last one tried to bite me!"

"But it didn't!"

"That's because I managed to get Pikachu to shock it into submission before burning it into charcoal!"

"Pika pi pika!"

Misty let go of their cheeks, grabbing Ash's arm again, tighter this time. Her cheeks were puff out, her face in a pout, eyeing the two with a disgruntled gaze. "I still don't think it was all that bad…"

Keitaro watched the exchange between the three with an amused smile. They didn't seem like bad people. In fact, their argument was echoes of the ones he usually had with some of the girls back home. They obviously felt affection for each other, even if it wasn't shown in a very romantic way. He sighed as thought of home filtered back to him. Really, what was going to happen to them? He wandered after the couple and pokémon in a weak daze, thinking about all that he had left back on Earth. By the time they arrived back at the house that had been extended off of Delilah's restaurant, his mood had taken a considerable dive into depression.

Mimey was at the entrance, sweeping off odd leaves and dirt that had collected on the front door's steps. Seeing them arriving, he put the broom on the side of the building and opened the door, running inside. "Mime! Mime!"

"Hmm, what is it, Mimey?" Delilah came out of the restaurant wiping her hands onto her apron. The apron showed a picture of a winking Mr. Mime holding a plate of foods in one hand, the other in a sharp salute. Keitaro noted that she looked a bit like Haruka with the way she was dressed. A grand smile bloomed on the older woman's face, and she rushed forward to engulf Ash in a hug. "Ash! My darling boy is back!"

Ash grunted uncomfortably as the woman squeezed him with all her might. He and Misty had only been gone a week. She didn't have to be so ecstatic every time they came home. "Hey, mom," he mumbled.

"Hello, Delilah," Misty greeted sweetly.

Delilah immediately turned her attention onto the younger girl, swallowing her up in a hug. Not a tight as one though, the girl was pregnant after all. Ash sighed in relief when his mother released the death hold on him. "And Misty, you as well! How's the baby?"

"She's fine," she replied. "She's still not big enough to move around yet, but the doctor in Cerulean said she was coming around very healthily."

"That's good."

"Hey, who said our kid was going to be a girl?" Ash mumbled in annoyance.

Both Delilah and Misty looked at him with an expression that said, 'typical male.' Then they looked at each other and giggled before pressing their cheeks together and looking back at their beloved Ash. "Woman's intuition," they sung in unison.

"Pika…" Pikachu muttered. Why was no one paying attention to him? He was cute and cuddly, right? Why wouldn't anyone pet him?! Someone pet him…_now!_

Delilah finally noticed the last member. "Oh, Keitaro, there you are!" He jumped when attention suddenly shifted back on him. "I was worried when I didn't find you in bed. It's not wise to run around outside when you have nothing on your feet and in sleepwear. But don't worry, I have your uniform all cleaned and ironed out."

Keitaro gulped as he felt his mouth go dry. A bad feeling settled in the pit of his stomach. "Uniform…?" he squeaked

"Why yes, your Team Rune uniform."

Time stood still after that statement. Everyone except for Delilah was staring at him, their expressions locked in absolute shock. They then changed to suspicion, recognition, anxiety, and finally anger. Ash and Pikachu were the first to move. Ash swiveled in front of Misty, protecting his wife in case Keitaro tried to make a move. Pikachu jumped down from his trainer's shoulders, his electric pouches sparking with untold power.

Keitaro was just frozen. They thought he was a part of Team Rune? Well, crap! From what he could tell, the organization definitely wasn't a well-liked one. Their leader had tried to kill him for a stupid crystal after all. But he didn't think there would be this much animosity simply from the suspicion that he was part of the notorious gang. He swallowed back the glob of spit that had formed in the back of his throat.

This could be a potentially painful problem.

Ash's eyes narrowed, his face sinking in a serious expression. He had run into Rune members every once in a while, and they were just as sneak and backstabbing as their mother organization, Team Rocket. Did they send a teammate after him, trying to gain revenge from the times they had failed? It would be just like them to do so when he had a pregnant wife and single mother to take care of and spent long lengths of time away from them to take care of official pokémon league business.

"So, you're a Team Rune member, huh?"

Keitaro waved his hands in front of him frantically. He had to think of a way to convey that he wasn't. However, the old Keitaro charm managed to sneak its way through instead, causing him to become tongue-tied and fall back on the tried-and-failed statement, "It's not what you think, honest!"

"It's not what I think? I find that hard ta believe."

"No really, I'm not a member of Team Rune at all!"

"You say you're not, but I can't just take your word. Sorry, but I think I'll have you taken to the police station. Maybe they can figure exactly who you are." Before he gave Keitaro a chance to respond or explain further, Ash ordered his pokémon to knock the man out. "Pikachu! Thunderbolt!"

Letting out a cry, Pikachu crackled and thundered as a large ray of lightning erupted from him, tracing through the air before crashing down on Keitaro. He shook as thousands of volts coursed through him before slowly dwindling off. Huh, that wasn't so bad. He'd had worse when most of Su's experiments had backfired…with him either near it or _in_ it…along with their power source…which was almost always radioactive…and illegal…except in Russia.

Keitaro coughed, and the others looked on in surprise as he stayed standing as though nothing had happened. That should have been enough power to knock even a Rhydon out! How could a mere human still be standing? Pikachu didn't even wait for Ash to give another command before letting loose again.

Keitaro could taste his teeth with the next attack. They had a slight coppery hint to them. That one tingled a bit. As he watched the trail of electricity slowly cut off, he found himself looking into Pikachu's beady black eyes. There was a bit of fear at Keitaro's apparent resistance, but something more as well. There was a strong need to protect those close to him and a heavy amount of affection as well. They were his precious friends and family, and nothing would cause any harm to them as long as he was there. Even if it meant…

Keitaro blinked. He took a step forward. Pikachu tensed up for another blast of electricity. The clouds began to darken as static energy collected in the lower atmosphere. Keitaro took another step. Crackling began to appear, surrounding the pokémon. Keitaro took another.

His foot was thrown up a bit when a bolt shot up from the ground, but he slowly set it back down. Looking down, he caught the pokémon's eyes with his own. Pikachu was nearly poleaxed by what he saw and felt.

There was fear, yes. Anxiety, too. But there was also a nearly limitless supply of kindness. It exuded from his every pore. Sadness as well, but what topped them all was an undeniable torrent of loneliness and confusion. He was lost, he was alone, and he needed someone, anyone, to be there for him.

The feeling of static electricity in the air died down. The clouds regained their pale, white color. Pikachu stepped down from unleashing his attack, tilting its head to the side. Ash watched as the two, human and pokémon, stared at each as though there was no one else.

"Pikachu?"

The electric mouse ignored his call, opting instead to dash forward to in front of Keitaro. He sat there, watching as the man knelt down on one knee. With one hand, he reached down and gently rubbed the top of Pikachu's head. After a few seconds he stood back up, and Pikachu ran back to Ash's side before leaping up onto the man's shoulder.

He smiled. "Pika pi! Pi pikachu!"

Ash looked from him to Keitaro and back again. He nodded and walked over, extending a hand. Keitaro paused for a second before taking it, giving a firm shake. All the tension that had previously been soaked throughout the place bled out, leaving only a content feeling.

Delilah clapped her hands together, gathering everyone's attention. "Oh my! Now that that's over, we should all head inside. I'm sure there's a lot of explaining that has to be made."

They all agreed, heading inside the restaurant. Delilah nodded politely to the people eating there before ushering the others into a cozy living room up a flight of stairs. Ash, Misty, and Pikachu took their seat on the loveseat situated near the wall, Keitaro in a chair opposite them. Delilah left for a few minutes before coming back with Mimey, the two of them carrying drinks and snacks. They took their place on the couch to the side.

Delilah smiled again. "Well then, shall we begin?"

Ash scratched Pikachu behind his ears, gaining a small purring noise in turn. He looked at Keitaro, who was staring back in turn. "So…you really aren't a member of Team Rune then?"

Finding himself on more neutral ground, Keitaro was a bit more confident in what he was going to say. He was going to tell them just what was what! Hitting the coffee table with a balled-up fist, he let out an annoyed growl. "Of course I'm not! Those psychos tried to take my brain!"

"Brain?" Delilah found herself thinking back to what he said when they first talked. Was he actually being serious when he said that she couldn't have his brain?

"I mean, I know I'm not the smartest person and I don't really use it to the fullest like I could and it gets a bit dusty every once in a while but I still don't want anyone to just take it!" His mouth began to grow dry as he continued to talk faster and more incoherently. "And it's not like they even needed the whole thing but that crazy doctor tried to take my whole head off!"

"Wait a minute!" Ash interrupted. Keitaro looked at him with a maddened and weary look. "You mean ta say ya actually met the head researcher? You met Plato Ptolemy?"

"Met him?! He tried to take a buzzsaw to my skull!"

Ash was silent for a moment. To say that Keitaro met one of the most reclusive officers in Team Rune was saying something as well as adding to his own importance. He filed that away into his mind for future reference.

Misty looked at her husband while he was deep in thought and decided to ask her own question. "Never mind that. Why in all the sea were you wearing one of their uniforms?"

His embarrassment overridden by the exasperation produced by the memory, Keitaro went on without even the smallest bit of shame. "I was naked! My clothes had been taken, the only thing I had was burned off by some kinda beam from some dinosaur pokémon, and there was an unconscious guard!"

"Oh dear, so _that's_ why you weren't wearing any underwear." The other four twisted their heads to look at Delilah. She was smiling but a tint of red was spread across her cheeks. Delilah shrugged at their shocked stares. "I accidentally caught a peek when Mimey was changing you." _Right…_something said in the back of her mind. _Accidentally…_

Keitaro was a broken man there and then. He sunk his head into his hands and began to cry silently. Ash palmed his own face while Misty giggled sheepishly and Pikachu sighed in frustration. Why were all humans so weird when it came to seeing each other naked? He would never understand that. He was always naked and it never bothered him!

When they all managed to calm down, Ash saw that Keitaro's eyes were unnaturally narrowed, almost closed. It reminded him of Brock. "Are you okay? You've been squinting a lot."

Keitaro rubbed his eye with his hand. "I have really bad vision. They took my glasses so I've been having trouble seeing since."

Ash nodded. He'd see if he could help the boy get some new ones when this was all over. "Besides that, I just have one more question for ya." Keitaro looked at him expectantly. "Why exactly did Ptolemy want with you? No offense, but you seem like a pretty normal person ta warrant his attention."

Mentally, Keitaro sighed. He was afraid it would eventually come to this. But it wasn't like he could keep it secret forever. Something like what was inside of him would eventually become common knowledge. He couldn't just keep the bandages on 24-7 and hope that no one would notice. Delilah probably already knew considering she was the one who bandaged his head in the first place. It was for the best that he revealed his secret in front of these people anyway. They were honestly nice people, and he was sure they'd be able to help him. They might even know a way of getting back home!

With a pause, he unwrapped the bandages from his head and lifted up his bangs for all to see. Ash, Misty, and Pikachu's eyes widened when they saw the glittering of crystal shine from his forehead. "This is what he was after. I don't know exactly what it is but Ptolemy called it –

"The creation crystal."

Ash swallowed. Keitaro was a lot less normal than he first thought. Whether or not that was a good thing was yet to be seen.

He had a feeling Tracey would have a field day over the entire deal.

"Also, until today I've never seen, heard of, or even knew there _was_ such a thing as a pokémon."

Oh yeah, he would have a _ball_.

FRTMFRTMFRTMFRTMFRTM

Stacks of papers loomed over the professor, threatening to collapse on top of him if he did not get to them soon. They compiled all of the pokémon data he was collecting from the previous day's tests. So many things he was learning, so many pokémon that had so many new quirks to them. He had to learn about them all!

But why, oh why, did there have to be so much paperwork?!

He groaned, his grey eyes becoming dull as he looked the papers over. He always was a bit of a scatterbrain, and when it became like this, it became hard to distinguish which stacks had the printouts and which ones had his drawings. Both were important, but he really had to learn to organize all of them better!

Leaning back in the chair, his white lab coat hanging off his wiry form, the man sighed. He pushed his green-tinted hair back, wishing he had brought his headband with him. It didn't help much with his scholarly look, but it did keep his bangs out of his eyes and that should have been worth more considering no one really cared about his looks. Pulling a pencil from behind his ear, he went back to work, marking off notes and small suggestions as he looked over the papers.

"Azumarill!"

He looked down to see his pokémon, an egg-shaped blue-tie-died rabbit with a spring-like tail. He smiled. "Hey, Azumarill, what's up? You here to help me with my work?"

His pokémon stuck its tongue out at the notion. No way! It hated doing boring paperwork more than its trainer! She then grabbed his hand, tugging at him slightly. "Zuma marill azu!"

"Hmm?" The man finally noticed that a small ringing was playing in the background. Recognizing it as the doorbell, he jumped to his feet. He had been so preoccupied with the paperwork that he had not heard it at all! The professor had locked the laboratory up last night, so no one could bother him while he ran tests. But now someone was there! Scooping up Azumarill, he ran to the front door, hopping and sliding around some of the pokémon that were loitering around the premises. He frowned. They really should act a little more thoughtful.

Coming to the door, he just managed to unlock before it burst open, Ash dashing in. "Tracey! We need to talk to you!"

Professor Tracey Sketchit sighed in relief when he realized it who it was. "Oh, it's just you, Ash."

He had been friends with the younger man ever since they met, and now they had become even closer ever since Tracey had gotten his PHD in pokémon anatomy and biology and took over the lab when Oak retired. Absently he thought about the old doctor. He must be having a blast in the Orange Islands, relaxing amongst so many tropical pokémon and wonderful weather. Even with his arthritis getting worse, Oak still managed to act like he was no older than a teenager.

Tracey scratched his head. "What is it? Did you catch a new pokémon or something?"

Ash shook his head. The older man would blow his top after hearing what he had to say. "Tracey, you've been wanting to take a drawing of that newly discovered evolution stone they discovered up in the Johto region, right?"

"Yeah, but they won't _anyone_ in to see it. Not even Professor Oak could and he's the most famous pokémon scientist in all the world."

Ash grinned. "Well, what would you say if I told ya I could get you a close and personal look at it?"

Almost immediately Tracey's eyes began to sparkle brilliantly. Without even realizing he had dropped Azumarill (who was rather huffy at his ignorance), Tracey grabbed Ash by the shoulders. The trainer winced as he felt iron-like claws digging into his flesh. "_Well_, where is it?! Let me see it!"

Ash nodded nervously. Damn, he could never quite get used to the man's exuberance and almost obsessive attitude when it came to these kinds of things. He called out behind him. "It's okay, Keitaro, you can come in now!"

Keitaro walked in. He had changed out of the pajamas and into another set of Ash's clothes. He felt embarrassed he kept leeching off of them, but Delilah said it was perfectly fine until he managed to get some of his own. Misty and Pikachu were not with him. Misty was drained of energy after the whole ordeal and was napping while Pikachu was enjoying some tasty pokémon food Delilah had prepared. Keitaro gulped anxiously.

"Um, hi. I'm Keitaro Urashima." He had finally gotten used to switching the way he said his name to try and avoid confusion."

Tracey looked between the two. "Um, it's nice to meet you. Ash, what's going on? I thought you said you could show me the creation crystal?"

"Just a minute," he responded. Nodding to Keitaro, he said, "Okay, you can show him now."

Nodding in return, Keitaro carefully removed the bandages he had replaced before. He hoped that this Tracey character would tell him what was up. All Ash had said was that he was an expert in a field that would definitely help him. When asked further, the pokémon master admitted with a sheepish laugh he himself knew very little about it.

As soon as he did, Tracey was in front of him, his eyes blazing with passion. His fingers moved over the crystal in Keitaro's skull with surprising dexterity. "This is amazing! I've never seen anything like this before. A human combining with an evolutionary stone! And with the creation crystal no less! Remarkable! This will break any previous notions about pokémon evolution for years to come!" He grabbed Keitaro's hands, his mouth spread into a giant grin. "You _must_ let me draw you!"

Keitaro was knocked senseless. "Huh?"

Ash coughed into his hand and tapped the eccentric scientist's shoulder. "Tracey…" he warned softly.

The man jumped, letting go of Keitaro's hands, and straightened up. He laughed as he scratched the back of his head. "Sorry, got a bit excited there." Ash snorted. Tracey grinned. "But you must understand this is simply unheard of. Evolutionary stones are keyed genetically to pokémon only. It is something that is coded directly into their DNA. We as humans just do not carry the genomes necessary to activate the stones' powers." He then gained a strange look.

Turning to Keitaro, he put a hand underneath his chin. "However, that is not what truly intrigues me right now. As of this moment, there are only two examples of the creation crystal being found. One is under strict watch and guard in Johto's National Pokémon Museum of History, and the other is under the care of the Rygus Empire. Forgive me if I say that I don't believe you have connection to either."

"He…had a bit of run in with Team Rune," Ash explained when he saw Keitaro was reluctant to answer. "Apparently they discovered the third crystal and he accidentally got tangled with them. In the process, he absorbed the crystal."

"Really?!" Tracey coughed again when he saw the look Ash was giving him. "But even with that it isn't biologically possible for humans to have any effect on evolutionary stones and visa versa."

"Um," Keitaro interrupted. "There's a reason for that actually." Tracey looked at him and Keitaro faltered before continuing. "I'm not what you would call a normal person…"

With a few stutters he launched into his story of how he was transported into their world and came in contact with the creation crystal. He had told this to Ash and the others already, but they said it was best to give Tracey the entire story as well. After all, he was the one best suited to help the boy with his particular problems. Throughout the whole retelling, Tracey kept asking question but Ash kept stopping him, saying that everything would be answered afterward. When he finished, Tracey was even more excited than before.

"Parallel dimensions, a world where pokémon don't exist, and you're from there? That's incredible!"

"Yeah," Keitaro muttered. "But it's starting to feel less incredible as time goes on."

Tracey nodded compassionately. "I would think so." He could understand how it would feel to be suddenly thrown into a completely new world with no idea of where to go or what was going on. Realizing this, he thought it'd best to hold back on the questioning until Keitaro was more settled in. Switching into his professor mode, Tracey led the two back to his lab, getting some of the loitering pokémon to move the paperwork off the desk so they could sit there. Seeing they were comfortable, he started to speak.

"Now, as you may know, pokémon are our world's version of animals. All of them are sentient and have supernatural powers. They act as our friends, partners, and oftentimes servants or workers. I won't go any further into the subject as I'm sure Ash has told you all about it already."

Keitaro looked at the trainer. "Yeah, you could say that." This time it was Ash's turn to cough in embarrassment. The whole time to the lab he wouldn't shut up about all the pokémon he had seen and befriended.

Tracey laughed at his friend's awkwardness. "What you're probably the most interested in are the evolutionary stones. I specialize in the biology, anatomy, and growth of pokémon, including their evolutionary tracks. Because of this I know a great deal about them. Evolutionary stones are minerals that generate wavelengths that activate the evolution genome in certain pokémon, allowing them to reach the next evolutionary state. For instance, that Pikachu of Ash's can only advance to its next form as a Raichu if it is exposed to a lightning stone.

"Certain stones only work on pokémon that they share an element with. Water stones for water pokémon, fire stones for fire pokémon, and so forth. However, the creation crystal is a stone that does not follow any of the normal rules. Its structure is much more complex than any other stone we've discovered, and the wavelengths it produces seems to resonate with every pokémon in the world. Not much is known about it, but it is theorized that the crystal directly interferes with the DNA of pokémon, rewriting their genetic code to allow new forms of evolution to emerge. However, this is still only a theory as no actual tests have proven successful in creating new species of pokémon.

"Now I have a theory on why you somehow absorbed the crystal, but I need to perform some tests on you first to see if it is correct."

Keitaro squirmed uncomfortably in his chair. He didn't like the sound of the way he said that. "Will I know what's going on?"

"I promise."

"Trust Tracey, Keitaro. He knows what he's talking about."

The boy was silent for a moment before nodding. "Okay, I'll do it."

Tracey clapped his hands together. "Excellent!"

He led Keitaro into a room that had several machines and medical equipments. As he ordered Keitaro to undress and change into a medical gown, the trans-dimensional man couldn't help but feel nervous. It reminded him too much of Ptolemy's lab. Shaking his head, he rid himself of the thoughts. No, these people were different. They were trying to help him.

But when Tracey walked in with what looked like a death ray gun and asked Keitaro to bend over, he suddenly felt things were about to get much, much worse.

FRTMFRTMFRTMFRTMFRTM

After several hours of long, boring and humiliating tests, which made them seem like an eternity instead, Keitaro was done and dressed quicker than Su could empty a plate of char-broiled bananas. Thanking the boy, Tracey said it would take at least a couple of days before all the results were in so Keitaro and Ash headed back to the pokémon master's house. The women were waiting for them and the day went by with them getting to know each other.

Settling on the couch, Keitaro tried to get comfortable. Delilah had been kind enough to give him several commodities to help him out, and for that the man was grateful. As he slowly fell asleep, Keitaro wondered what would happen in the days to come.

The next few days passed by peacefully. Delilah and Misty had taken Keitaro shopping to the local store for new clothes, forcing Ash and Pikachu to come as well. They were not that happy. They also had Keitaro order a new pair of glasses but until they arrived the three had to lead Keitaro by the hand. They quickly discovered that the boy was a natural klutz, and that the number of accidents he had involving a small dent in the road and various female citizens were only going to increase exponentially until he could see clearly again.

Unfortunately for them, they would find out they were very wrong in that regard.

Keitaro found himself really enjoying the company of the Ketchum family. They were all very nice people. Delilah reminded him of Haruka, like the big sister he never had but without the constant smacking him with a fan. Misty was a sweet girl, and unlike Ash he was quite used to female hormones raging even if the cause was pregnancy and not just perpetual PMS. And Ash, well Ash still reminded him of Seta with his goofy attitude but resolution to become serious when the situation required. Keitaro still had to get used to Pikachu, but the pokémon only shocked him a few times out of jest, and even then the lessened voltage and his heavy tolerance made it so it didn't hurt so much.

All in all, his excursion into the pokémon world wasn't as difficult or treacherous as he was first led to believe.

Tracey finished with the results in a short amount of time and had visited them to reveal his findings. When he entered the restaurant he found Keitaro bussing tables, the only thing he could do without messing up since he couldn't write orders or cook without his glasses, and called over the boy. Saying that he had to speak with him, the two excused themselves from Delilah and headed over to the living room where they found the married couple cuddling, Misty's head in her husband's lap. Noticing Tracey, they waved hello. He waved back before holding up his findings.

"I finally managed to finish with the results."

Ash looked at Keitaro who only nodded back. He smiled. "Well, out with them."

Tracey nodded his affirmation. Clearing his throat, he began. "The things I found out were amazing! Keitaro's biology is entirely similar to ours except for one critical fact." He turned to the boy. "You might not believe this, but several of your chromosomes are nearly identical to those common to every pokémon. To put it simply, Keitaro, you yourself could be considered a new species! _That's_ why the creation crystal was able to have an effect on you; you're so similar to a pokémon that it simply filled the gaps in."

Keitaro shook his head as though trying to get rid of cobwebs. "Wait, I'm a pokémon?"

Tracey frowned. "No, not exactly. There are still many variations between you and them, but for the most part you do share very similar genetic code. It's easier to say you're a kind of hybrid, a mix between pokémon and human DNA. You're not quite a pokémon, but at this point you're not exactly human either." He rubbed his chin. "Perhaps in your world pokémon and humans crossbred at an early stage of development, resulting in the current generations. Tell me, does anyone in your world demonstrate supernatural abilities or attributes?"

Keitaro thought about the girls, Seta, and pretty much anyone else he ever met. Then he thought about himself and his apparent invulnerability. Well, that would explain a few things…He always wondered why he could take a 100 MPH haymaker to the face and not be permanently scarred. "Yeah, I guess you could say that…"

"Fascinating." Thinking about what this could lead to, Tracey had to physically restrain himself from drooling. Wiping his mouth, he continued. "Also, I ran some tests on your brain, seeing as the creation crystal has fused with it. Remarkably, it is a perfect fusion. The crystal has literally grown its way into your brain, melding with individual neurons as though they were always together. In essence, the crystal now _is_ part of your brain. Regrettably, this also means there is no means of extraction without killing you." Tracey looked down at his feet. "I'm sorry."

Keitaro frowned sadly but then smiled again. "It's okay." Seeing that Tracey still had more to say, he asked, "Is there more?"

"Yes. I noticed that the crystal appears to react when you feel strong emotions. Do you remember those tests I performed to evoke some?" Keitaro nodded. How could he forget? Asking all those questions about his sex life had certainly evoked more than just a few emotions. "Well, the crystal becomes more active the stronger your emotions become. Literally the thing acts like a mood indicator, but what is strange is that it also generates wavelengths that I am unfortunately not familiar with. Perhaps more will come to light as time passes."

Keitaro paused as the doctor finished. He understood everything that Tracey said but what truly scared him was the question he had to ask. He had to know, even if the answer only brought him into depression. "Is…is there any way for me to get back home?"

Tracey said nothing, and Keitaro felt his heart sink at the man's expression. "I'm sorry, Keitaro, but we don't have means or the technology to do so. The only kind of dimensional transport we have applies strictly to pokémon, and even then they can only be transported to places that have beacons to ground them. I apologize."

"That's…that's okay." So that was it. He was stuck in this world. He felt like crying but the tears simply wouldn't come. It was as though he didn't even have the energy to cry.

"But…there might be a way." Keitaro looked up at him with an unbelieving expression. So did Ash and Misty. Huh? Tracey smiled. "You are not a pokémon, Keitaro, but neither are you a human. You break the boundaries of both. Because of this, there might be a way back. Look at this." He held out a large sheet of paper. On it were several graphs and statistical displays. To Keitaro, they just looked like a bunch of numbers, lines, and letters.

"What is it?"

"These are readings I got from exposing the creation crystal to various evolutionary stones. The more I put in close contact to it, the stronger the crystal reacted. It began to reach an output and type of energy that only pokémon transport devices give out. But what really got them going were these." He took out of his pocket several small tokens. Keitaro saw that each had a theme to it – a raindrop, a heart, a flame…

Ash recognized what they were in a second. "Those are gym badges!"

Tracey nodded. "Exactly."

Misty started to see where he was going. After all, being a gym leader for nearly all her life allowed her certain insights that normal citizens would not get. "Are you saying that the gym badges are producing a reaction in the crystal that is similar to our transport systems?" She got a concentrated look on her face. "It makes sense. After all, badges are carved from concentrated evolutionary stones, even though they can't be used to evolve pokémon."

"So does that mean if I get a bunch of badges, the creation crystal could maybe transport me back home?" Keitaro asked excitedly.

"It's a distinct possibility."

"Then what are we waiting for?!" Ash shouted. "I have a ton of badges! Let's get cracking right now!"

"It won't work, sweetie," Misty chided him.

"Huh?"

"Badges only work for those that earn them," Tracey explained. "The badges I have right now _are_ yours, Ash, but the effect is dampened considerably because they aren't completely resonating with Keitaro. It's a failsafe device in case people tried to steal them. After all, they do have special attributes that increase the effectiveness and power of the owner's pokémon."

"So are you saying that…"

Tracey nodded and smiled widely. "You should become a pokémon trainer, Keitaro, and go earn the badges yourself!"

The room was quiet for a few seconds. Then Ash exploded, crowing like a bird. Misty grumbled good-naturedly as he gently lifted her up into a sitting position before he dived across the room, embracing Keitaro in a passionate hug.

"This is awesome! You can be a trainer just like me! You're gonna have so much fun! I promise it will be the most exciting experience in your entire _life!_" He continued to babble on and on about all the things he had to prepare for Keitaro's journey while the confused lad just stared vacantly ahead as life seemed to zoom in and all around him.

Tracey and Misty watched as the scene continued to unfold itself. They looked at each other and shrugged. Well, at least Keitaro would have a good platform to jump off from.

Even if instead he plummeted like a sack full of lead.

FRTMFRTMFRTMFRTMFRTM

The crunching of sand under shoes echoed through the afternoon air. A sigh was heard when they stopped. The young figure that was traveling along the side roads of Palette Town dejectedly kicked at a few pebbles before continuing onward.

Keitaro was in a rather perplexed mood at the moment. After Ash had exclaimed how wonderful it was to become a pokémon trainer, he had gotten Delilah to enter the conversation as well. The older woman simply said she hoped that Keitaro would have a fun time and to make sure to bring plenty of clean underwear. Ash reacted as though he were ten years old again and started to mutter darkly to himself. After that he launched into a spiel of the rewards and benefits of being a trainer, to which Keitaro reluctantly found himself fairly interested in.

He looked at the small dual-colored ball in his hand. Ash had shoved the pokéball at him, stating that the young man should take his first step by catching a pokémon of his own. Keitaro groaned. How was he supposed to catch a pokémon anyway? Wasn't he supposed to beat it up with another pokémon first?

Just the very thought of that made him feel a little sick to his stomach. So to become a trainer he had to capture and enslave innocent animals? He knew that the people in this world had very different values from his own, and that they and their pokémon didn't seem to think much of it, but he did! Thinking he had to capture animals and make them ruthlessly battle each other…It would be like making Tama-chan fight against a wild dog or something! He could even hear what she would say if he asked her to do something like that.

"Myu!"

_Yeah, just like that! Wait._ Turning around, Keitaro was shocked to see the same pokémon that had shoved him down the hill only a few days before. It looked curiously at him. He slung an arm out, his finger pointing accusingly. "You!"

The pokémon cocked its head before pointing at itself. "Myu?"

"Yeah, you! You were the one that trapped me inside that bubble, weren't you?"

The pokémon thought about it for a second before shrugging its shoulders. "Myu myu."

It took all of Keitaro's willpower not to melt at the pokémon's cute actions, but he had to stay strong! He had to make sure it knew its place! "No, no 'myu myu!' Why'd you do that?"

The pokémon was silent before it darted up and around in the air, circling around Keitaro at insane speeds. His eyes tried to follow it but he became dizzy after a while, his eyes rolling around in his head. When he couldn't take anymore he sat down, holding his head to rid it of the disoriented feeling. The pink pokémon took the opportunity to fly down and, just like a few days earlier, plant one on Keitaro's nose while he couldn't defend himself.

He reacted the same way, letting out a yell while jumping to his feet. Glaring daggers at the pokémon, he was annoyed to see that it only giggled at his reactions. This drove his attitude further downward. "That's it! I'm out of here!" Stomping his feet, he turned around and marched off, leaving the pokémon behind.

However, Keitaro could feel subtle movements behind him as he walked. Turning around, he saw that the pokémon was following him. He growled before spinning back and walking some more. After a minute or so had passed, he looked again. Still there. He walked for a while longer. _Still_ there. A little more. _Still…there!_

Losing his temper, Keitaro began to shout. "Why are you following me?! Go away! You're annoying!"

"Myu?" It tilted its head, it eyes just shining of innocence, asking what the man could _possibly_ mean by that.

Keitaro yelled in frustration before dashing off, trying to put as much distance between him and it as he could. When he finally stopped, he turned back around. It wasn't there. Sighing and chuckling in relief, he turned back around.

A pink furball splattered directly onto his face. Giving a cry of fright, Keitaro tried to remove the pokémon from him, but it had latched its arms and legs around his head, coiling its long tail around his neck for extra leverage. Upon realizing that it wasn't about to leave anytime soon, he relied on the always dependable method for dealing with stressful situations – running around at top speeds while screaming as loud as possible.

However, considering that he couldn't see at _all_ rather than just not well, he didn't notice the telephone pole right up until he smashed face-first into it. At the last moment, the pokémon leaped from his head, allowing him to take the full brunt of the impact. Falling to the ground, Keitaro's head lolled from side to side as he tried to rid his vision of the multiple pink devils that tormented him. When it finally did, he noticed that one still remained.

The evil, little thing was giggling its butt off, twirling around in the air like a mad gyroscope. Keitaro tried to keep a stern face but he couldn't in the onslaught of cuteness the creature was exuding. He just sighed miserably and allowed a bitter smile to cross his face. Oh well, at least one of them was having fun. The pokémon looked on as the man started to chuckle softly. Twirling softly, it floated down to his sitting position.

"Myu?"

Keitaro looked at it in exasperation. "What do you want now? Throw me off a cliff, set me on fire, or maybe just embarrass me to death?"

It shook its head viciously then tilted it to the side. With a fervent nod, it tapped its forehead against his. The same warmth spread through his body and he sighed as the feeling siphoned off. Staring at the cat-rabbit – cabbit, whatever – he smiled in warmer manner.

"'K, I get it. You just wanted to play. Fine." His eyebrows perked when it cocked its head down, looking at his enclosed hand. Widening his eyes, he brought it up, opening up to reveal the pokéball. Keitaro looked to see if the pokémon had any reaction. Seeing that its face appeared blank, he smiled grimly. "Guess you know what this is, huh? Aren't you afraid of me now? Don't you want to run away?"

It kept the blank look for a moment before a wide smile appeared, its blue eyes twinkling with capriciousness. "Myu myu!" It then started to butt its head against the capsule, as though it were trying to unlock the safety mechanism.

"Hey, wait a second!" Keitaro snatched the ball away, hiding it from the pokémon. "What are you doing? Do you _want_ to be captured? Do you _want_ to be forced to fight?"

The pokémon glanced at the ball and then him before settling into a thinking position. Almost no timed passed before it leaped to the ground, balancing on its tail while pumping its arms like it was shouting, 'leave it to me!' "Myu nyu myu!"

Keitaro felt his jaw drop. Just what was this crazy thing thinking? It was…was…He closed his mouth, his cheeks beginning to stain and his fingers poking together. "Um…I think I'm about to start a really long journey and I'm told I'm supposed to have a pokémon help me. I mean, not that I want you to fight against your will, it's just that…I mean…That is…" He stopped and took a deep breath to calm down. The pink pokémon giggled. He smiled. Keitaro extended out his hand, the pokéball in his palm. "Will you help me?"

Its answer was to smack the ball's button with a paw. A click, a whirring, and a red beam shot out, transforming the pokémon into a mass of red light. It was sucked into pokéball, and the capsule shook while the button blinked a couple times. It then stopped, and the ball was still. Keitaro gulped when he took it and then pressed the button again, flinging it into the air.

"Alright then, come on out!"

The ball spun once before it popped open, the pokémon racing out in front of him. It hovered there before dancing on the air. "Myu!"

Keitaro laughed. It really was cute. "Well, I guess I'd better give you a name then. I can't just call you 'you,' now can I?"

"Myu nyu!"

He squatted down so that he was at eye level. "I'm guessing you're not a guy pokémon, right?" It looked at him with half-closed eyes. A guy pokémon that was completely pink? Was he serious? Keitaro laughed. "Right, so that scratches off guy names." He scratched his head and then snapped his fingers. "I know! I'll call you Vanilla, 'cause you're cute and sweet!"

"Myu!"

"GA-UMPH!"

She gave thanks for her new name by attaching herself to his face with more tenacity than an alien face-hugger. This time it would take a lot more than a run-in with a telephone pole to remove her.

Vanilla, formerly known as the legendary pokémon Mew, number 151 in the national pokémon index and the eve mother of every pokémon in the world, smiled with all the joy of a psychotic chainsaw serial killer. She would have lots of fun with this Keitaro.

A human who could actually see her true self when she was in disguise, owner of the creation crystal _and_ a trans-dimensional being?

Oh yes, she would have a lot of fun indeed.

God have pity on the boy…

A/N: Well, that's the end of the second chapter. See? It _was_ shorter – one whole page! Ugh, wrote a lot more than I thought I would…again. Anyway, hope you liked it. I'll be focusing on this fic only for a while. That way I can get back into the groove of things and not get distracted by multiple fics. As you probably already know I'm easily- Oooh! Something shiny! _(runs after piece of foil)_

You're probably wondering why I have Mew as Keitaro's first pokémon. Well, I have a tendency of torturing the main characters in my humor fics so I need a way to balance that out. Keitaro, meet ultra rare pokémon. Don't worry, though. In the next chapter you'll see that Mew will create more harm than help.

As for a question from one of my reviewers – "How does Keitaro not know about pokémon being from Japan?" This is a problem from most crossovers seeing as all they need to know what's going on is to pick up a copy of the series. All I ask is that you suspend your disbelief for this and assume pokémon wasn't the huge cultural explosion it was. It'll make the fic a lot more enjoyable. As always, Please Review and remember, no flames!

_Next Chapter: Training…From Hell!_


	3. Training From Hell!

Disclaimer: I don't own Love Hina or Pokémon. But I want Mew so badly! I don't care if she uses me as a volleyball, I want that cuddly, demonic creature!

**From Ronin to Master  
Chapter 3: Training…From Hell!  
By Irritus185**

"Myu myu nyu myu!"

"All right already, I get you're excited!"

"Myu!"

Keitaro sighed as he felt Vanilla rhythmically tap on his head with her front paws from her position while she swayed back and forth to her own singing. Immediately after "catching" her, Keitaro made sure to leave her out of the pokéball. He hated the idea of keeping her cooped up inside the capsule, so he let her ride on him while he deposited the ball inside his pocket. He had to take care of it now as anyone who owned it could recall Vanilla whenever they wanted. The idea of someone stealing it and then locking her up made him sick when he thought of the carefree pokémon.

However, her chosen spot on him was seriously starting to get on his nerves. He hadn't been able to completely dislodge her from his head, only slide her around so she was attached to the back of his head instead of his face. She quickly took to it, riding his head and shoulders like she was a child. Her tail was firmly wrapped Keitaro's neck, so it felt as though he was wearing a warm, breathing scarf and hood.

At least she was somewhat helping him find his way back to Pallet House. Even with the few times the Ketchum family had taken him around town, he still had trouble finding his way across the sparsely populated village. By tapping on various parts of his head, she partially directed which way he should turn. Sure Vanilla had some fun with him first, directing him into a tree, a boulder, and then a ditch off the side of the road, but after the first several tries she had her fill of mischief and earnestly helped him out.

He could now see the restaurant so Vanilla just regressed to using his skull like a bongo, playing out a tune. He didn't mind, the pokémon's small and soft paws felt more like someone was hitting him with tiny pillows than any real malice. At least she seemed like she was having fun. That's what really mattered to him.

Opening the door to the restaurant, the tinkling of a bell announced his arrival. "I'm back," he called out gently. He felt weird saying it but deep down he already felt as though this place was becoming a second home to him. The people were kind and treated him like one of their own even though he wasn't even from this dimension.

Delilah looked up from behind the counter. Upon seeing him, a smile appeared on her face. "Oh my, Keitaro, welcome back." Her eyes shifted to Vanilla. Her smile grew even wider upon realizing what she was. "And you've brought a friend with you! That's wonderful!"

Keitaro scratched his cheek as he blushed in embarrassment at her praise. "Yeah, she joined me somewhere on the outskirts of town. Her name is Vanilla."

Delilah nodded. "It's very nice to meet you, Vanilla." She reached out and petted the Mew on her head. Vanilla responded by cooing softly and slapping both her paws on Keitaro's hair. Delilah giggled at her. "How cute!"

"What's that? Keitaro managed to get a pokémon?!" Ash jumped up from his seat at one of the tables where was talking with Tracey. The two had been discussing the various pokémon that had been popping up in the area when Keitaro arrived. Now that he was there, the pokémon master rushed in front of him, Pikachu hanging onto his shoulder. Looking at him and Vanilla, he grabbed Keitaro's hand and shook it furiously. "That's fantastic! I never expected ya to get one so quickly!"

"Myu!"

Ash looked at the pokémon, seeing how it was holding onto Keitaro as though for dear life but with a content expression on her face. "So your starter pokémon is a Rattata, huh? That's a nice, easy pokémon to begin your journey with."

Keitaro looked out of the corner of his eye, seeing Vanilla was craning her head forward to look at him. His raised an eyebrow. "A rat, huh? She looks more like a cat to me, but okay."

Ash shrugged. He knew that things were bound to be different between their worlds so if Keitaro said it looked like a cat then Ash would just have to accept it. He grinned at remembering what he wanted to show to the younger man. "Tracey!" he shouted, turning to the scientist. "Show him!"

"I got it, I got it. Keep your shirt on." Tracey readjusted his headband to keep his hair in place before standing up. Walking to where they were, he pulled a small handheld device out of his coat pocket. Handing it over, he explained, "This is a pokédex, Keitaro. It's an extremely useful tool for both beginner pokémon trainers and experienced ones. It'll help give detailed information on pokémon you see and it had various other functions like a map, GPS, and a telephone that'll directly connect to any pokémon center in the region you're currently in. I also made sure to plug in my number in case you need anything." He flipped the device open, allowing the camera lens to focus on Vanilla. "Here, I'll show you how it works by using it on your new pokémon."

Turning it over to the boy, Keitaro heard a quick description of Vanilla as the picture of Rattata showed up on the LCD screen.

**Rattata****, the mouse pokémon. A normal-type. Rattata is cautious in the extreme. Even while it is asleep, it constantly listens by moving its ears around. Small and very quick, it is a common sight in many places.**

Keitaro blinked and said nothing. There was definitely something wrong here. This was not the kind of pokémon Vanilla was. This pokémon most certainly looked like a rat from his world. By his standards the Mew should be eating these pokémon, not be them. He shook his head. "There's something wrong with this thing. Vanilla isn't this pokémon."

Ash frowned in puzzlement. "What are you talking about, Keitaro? Of course that's what Vanilla is."

Keitaro shook his head again. "No, Vanilla doesn't look like this at all. She looks like a pink cat with really big hind legs."

The three looked at each other before at Vanilla. Purplish in color with large teeth, red eyes, and a curled tail, Vanilla looked all the world like a Rattata hanging on top of Keitaro's head. They looked at Keitaro strangely. Ash tried to talk calmly to the young man. "Keitaro, I know your eyesight is poor without your glasses but it can't be so bad ta mistake a mouse-type pokémon for a cat-type."

Keitaro blinked. "So you mean you really don't see Vanilla as _not_ this pokémon?" He waved the pokédex for good measurement.

They glanced at the pokémon perched on his head. Vanilla's whiskers twitched, her overbite threatening to jab into his head at any second. She waved her paws in a playful manner, eyes closed. "Rattata!"

"No."

"Not really."

"Oh my, no."

"Pika Pikachu."

Keitaro looked up at Vanilla again. She stared back at him, her head tilted like she knew what he was thinking. Did they really not see her as he did? He knew his vision was poor but not_ that_ poor. No, something else was going on; he was sure of it. He shook his head and laughed awkwardly, cupping the side of his neck with his hand. "Urm, sorry about that guys, I must have been mistaken or something."

Trcaey frowned pensively and stepped forward, putting a hand to Keitaro's forehead. After a few seconds, he retreated. "Well, the creation crystal isn't acting up, but…" He crossed his arms. "Are you feeling okay? You aren't sick or injured, are you?"

Keitaro answered without thinking. "Well, I've been smashing headfirst into a lot of things lately so I most likely have a concussion but…" Realizing what he just spouted out, he halted and began waving his hands in front of him. "Never mind! I'm fine, really! I'm probably just a little tired is all."

Delilah looked at him in concern. She wringed the rag in her hand and threw it back onto the sink. "Dear me; well, you'd better go to bed early then if you're feeling tired. I'll make you some tea in a little while to help calm you down." With that, she walked into the back room, looking for some herbal tea.

Tracey nodded as well. "And I'd like to perform some more tests as well. I want to make sure that the crystal isn't having any adverse effects on your body." He grabbed some notes from the table and began to leave.

"You're going?" Ash asked.

The doctor nodded and then frowned in distaste. "I've still got a bunch of paperwork to file and then some new pokémon to take care of that just came in from an abroad trainer. I'll see you all later." With a final wave he left, the door clicking shut behind him.

Keitaro watched as he left. Was there really something wrong with him? He could swear that Vanilla looked nothing like a Rattata. Perhaps it really did have something to do with the creation crystal, but Keitaro could swear there was something very different and special about Vanilla as well that lent to the whole mystery. It didn't matter right now, he supposed. He could always try and figure it out later.

He was broken out of his thoughts by Ash. "All right then!" the man shouted. "It's time ta begin your training! We can't send you off ta be a trainer when you don't even know the basics of battling. Meet me in the backyard. I'll be there in a minute." He winked and dashed off deeper into the house, an excited grin plastered on his face.

Keitaro felt he might as well follow orders and proceeded to the backyard. It was a lot bigger than he thought, a few small gardens with a large, open field spreading out a great distance. He could see some lines had been chalked into the field and assumed that was where Ash intended on having the practice battle. Keitaro was surprised to find Misty there, sitting comfortably on a lawn chair while reading a book. He walked over to greet her. "Good afternoon, Misty."

The former gym leader placed her book down and smiled warmly at him. "Hey, Keitaro. What are you doing back here?" Her eyes switched to the pokémon on his head. Her smile grew. "Oh, you got your first pokémon! Ash was babbling on about how you were going to catch one right away. Is he going to show you how to battle?"

"Yeah, that's why-hey!" Keitaro was startled when Vanilla jumped from her perch, Misty even more so when she leaped down to the ground and then onto her seat. Keitaro grew nervous. He knew Vanilla was rather mischievous and child-like, so he worried about her being near a pregnant Misty. "Vanilla, what are you-"

"It's okay," Misty shushed him. She looked at the pokémon that was standing on its hind legs to her side, staring at her belly like it was the most fascinating thing in the world. It looked at her then her belly. Reaching over, it gently patted her swollen stomach.

"Ratta?" Misty simply smiled and nodded. Even without words she could understand what the pokémon was trying to say. Vanilla grinned. "Tata!" She briefly rubbed her cheek against Misty's tummy before leaping back to the ground and climbing her way back up Keitaro's clothes to his head. "Rattata!"

Keitaro let out a small sigh of a relief. Well, at least that went well. He was still more than a bit worried about how his training would go. Knowing his luck, something awful or other would happen, most likely to him. His fears had not been lessened by the time Ash came out.

The pokémon master came marching out with all the confidence in the world. He knew things would go great between Keitaro and his new pokémon. Approaching them, he gave his wife a peck on the cheek before dragging Keitaro over to the battlefield. Misty put a bookmark in to remember her place and closed the book. There was no way she was going to miss something like this.

Ash watched as Keitaro gently placed Vanilla onto the ground. This was going to be fun. He began his lecture. "Pokémon battles are the most basic function of a pokémon trainer. Simply put, each trainer chooses a pokémon and then have them battle against each other." He stopped and then looked at Keitaro expectantly.

The young man blinked. "Is…is that all?"

Misty sighed in exasperation. Sometimes Ash could be so thickheaded and too eager to do things properly. "Ash, he isn't going to understand from just that. You're going to have to tell him more."

He frowned. "Battles aren't learned by talking, they're learned by doing so. With some practice, I'm sure Keitaro will quickly get the hang of it, right?" Keitaro just kind of nodded dumbly. What the hell did he know? Ash grinned and detached a pokéball from his belt. "All right then, I've got some good starter pokémon to try against ya. So let's begin, huh?" Throwing the ball into the air, he shouted, "Squirtle! I choose you!"

When the light dissipated, a small blue turtle with human-like features appeared. It crossed its arms and gave a punk-like scowl. "Squirtle…" it muttered. This Squirtle was actually the child of Ash's original Squirtle whom he had released. It had inherited both its father's rebellious attitude and tenacity. It had taken a while for Ash to rein the feisty pokémon in.

Ash nodded at Keitaro. "Okay, Keitaro, since you're the one learning, you go first. Just call out the name of the attack you want your pokémon to perform." The boy looked completely lost and stood there for several moments while everyone just stared at him. Ash laughed sheepishly when he realized the trans-dimensional man would have no idea what attacks a Rattata could make. "Just look at your pokédex. It should have all the possible attacks in there."

Keitaro nodded swiftly and pulled the device out. Finding the entry, he scanned down the list. What would be a good one to start with…Oh! There! "Urm, Vanilla, use tackle!"

"Myu!" Vanilla dashed forward, her feet barely grazing along the ground. When she reached her opponent, who was obviously not prepared as it was honestly just a beginner, she took off and…began slapping its cheeks with vigor.

The three humans and one pokémon watched as the pokémon continued to batter the water-type with fresh smacks. When done, Vanilla jumped back, giggling at her work. The Squirtle nearly fell over, its cheeks red and puffy with soreness. It stomped the ground with anger, glaring daggers at the giggling Rattata.

Keitaro blinked and ventured a guess. "That…that wasn't tackle, was it?"

Ash shook his head slowly. "First time I've seen a Rattata use double slap…" He then shook his head more furiously this time. "Never mind that. Time for us to retaliate! Squirtle! Water gun!"

The pokémon grinned evilly. "Squirtle!" Puffing out its cheeks, it expelled a small, pressurized torrent of water from its mouth.

Instinctively, Keitaro shouted out, "Right!" Vanilla followed it, tumbling to her right. The water blast smashed into where she just was, leaving a small, water-filled dent in the ground. It wouldn't have done much damage but definitely would have thrown her for a loop. Thus began a dance of reflexes as Vanilla dodged around the water pokémon's attacks, sometimes following Keitaro's warnings, oftentimes not.

The Squirtle was beginning to get on its last nerves as Vanilla continued to avoid its attacks. Why couldn't it hit the stupid thing?! She was just a Rattata, it shouldn't be having this much trouble! And why in the sea's name would it not stop giggling?! The disguised pokémon stopped after the last attack, balancing on her tail, her alter form doing the same thing. The Squirtle grinned. With that small pause it couldn't dodge him now.

With a burst of speed, it performed another water gun attack. However, just as it was about to spray her, Vanilla pushed down on her tail, springing upwards. She cleared the attack, its arc pushing forward through the air. Unfortunately for Keitaro, she had placed herself at such an angle that the attack hit him straight in the face. With a muffled gasp for air he was knocked to the ground.

Vanilla ignored her new friend's demise by her indirect hand, instead choosing to lead the Squirtle, who by this point had disregarded all strategy and just wanted to pound her, on a wild goose chase around the field. She laughed gaily while her pursuer threatened to harm her in the most imaginative of ways.

Ash sighed as he watched the debacle unfold. He was worried something like this might happen but didn't think it would end so…chaotically. He feared that Keitaro's first pokémon wouldn't listen to him and he knew that his own would take a lot more practice and care before it managed to keep its temper under wraps. Walking over, he grabbed his Squirtle as it tried to smack Vanilla with its tail. The pokémon struggled for a bit before resigning to its fate.

Ash smiled. "It's okay, you did a good job with no experience. We'll practice later, okay?" It mumbled something incoherent but Ash smiled nonetheless. "Return." The pokéball shut when the Squirtle was recalled to it. He turned to Keitaro who was picking himself up. "We've got a lot more work ahead of us, but you seem to be getting the hang of it. That was good the way you helped your pokémon avoid the ranged attacks."

"Um, thanks." Keitaro didn't feel very good. Vanilla only followed half of his suggestions and didn't even listen to her first order. He stared at the pink pokémon while she clapped her hands together in glee. Looked like he had a long, perilous trail ahead of him.

Ash nodded, understanding what the boy _didn't_ say. He had a lot of trouble with Pikachu when they first started out. The electric mouse was more prone to shocking him then obeying his commands in battle. But things eventually worked out and now they were closer than most people were to their pokémon. He was sure that the same would happen with Keitaro and Vanilla. Pulling out another pokémon, he called out the next one.

Keitaro watched as it emerged. It looked like a blue bulb, green grass coming out from on top of its head like hair. Flipping the pokédex like he had seen Tracey do, he captured the pokémon in the viewfinder.

**Oddish, the weed pokémon. A grass-and-poison dual-type. Oddish searches for fertile, nutrient-rich soil then plants itself. During the daytime, while it is planted, this Pokémon's feet are thought to change shape and become similar to the roots of trees.**

"Oddish odd!" The pokémon laughed, hopping up and down on its stubby legs. Ash figured that a pokémon with not such a volatile personality would have a better chance with dealing with Vanilla. This Oddish he had found wandering around Route 1, and it had taken a shining to him when he saved it from an attacking Pidgeotto. It was a happy, carefree pokémon, and he was sure it would make a good battle partner.

Ash nodded. He watched as Keitaro gathered Vanilla back up and got her ready again. Right, this time he would be the one to attack first. "Oddish! Use sweet scent!"

"Oddish!" The plant pokémon began to swing its head back and forth in rhythm. As it did, a pink mist seeped from the grass-like appendages on its head. It wafted onto the air, drifting in all directions. Keitaro caught a whiff of it as it passed by. It smelled so pleasant and nice. He could feel all his muscles relaxing as the scent traveled through his system.

Apparently it was having the same effect on Vanilla. She swayed on her feet as though she was drunk, dreamily cooing while she blinked slowly.

Ash smiled at the effect. Good, it had lowered her effectiveness to dodge. Deciding to carry on with his attack, he called, "Bullet seed!"

"Odd!" The Oddish bent forward, having the top of its head face Vanilla. With what sounded like a popgun, multiple hard, tiny seeds shot forth from it at Vanilla. She looked as they came towards her. With a sleepy 'myu,' she rolled to the side. However, her speed had decreased a bit, so the seeds grazed her shoulder.

That immediately woke her up. "Myu!" she cried out. It didn't really hurt, but it surprised her.

Her cry knocked Keitaro out of his stupor as well. Seeing what had happened, he desperately searched through the attack list. "Vanilla, use quick attack!"

"Myu!" Deciding to listen, she ran at the Oddish, her form leaving a glowing white trail behind as her body took an incredible boost in speed. Zigzagging around the seeds, she turned her body, slamming side-first into the Oddish and knocking it down. She returned to her original position, a pleased look on her face.

The Oddish got back up, dizzy from the sudden attack. However, it steadied its stance quickly, stomping on the ground once to show its readiness again. Ash grinned at both the pokémon's persistence but also the surprising improvement in Keitaro and Vanilla's teamwork. He decided to take it up a notch. "Alright then, Oddish, use your stun spore!"

"Oddish odd!" The pokémon seemed as though it was struggling before a yellow, gritty mass of smoke was expunged from its head. The paralyzing powder drifted towards Vanilla.

Keitaro, realizing that it was same type of attack as that sweet scent, tried to find a way to negate it. Well, maybe one kind of attack could get rid of the same. He remembered something from the list that might produce a similar effect if used in a creative way. "Vanilla, tail whip the ground! Blow up the sand!"

Vanilla cooed excitedly. She was beginning to have fun! Sweeping her long whipping tail, she brushed up a cloud of sand from the ground. It blew towards the powder, mixing in with it and blowing it away. But not all of it was dispersed, the actual attack not that easily destroyed. It finally hit its target…and an unexpected one too due to the improvised interference.

Keitaro 'erked' as he felt all his muscles and joints lock up. With a creak that was reminiscent of a redwood being fallen, he crashed to the ground, raising up a cloud of dust. _Oh come! Really?! This just sucks!_

Ash couldn't believe his eyes. What was with the lad? Did the gods just hate him or something? This was second time in two battles he was accidentally hit by a pokémon's attack. The pokémon master began to worry about Keitaro's trainer career if this is what would happen every time he battled. He sighed and looked at Vanilla. The little creature was vibrating subtly, her large round ears twitching in manner showing her paralysis. He decided he might as well end the battle and then attend to Keitaro.

"Oddish, end it with acid." He waited, but seeing that the pokémon did not move, became confused. "Oddish?"

"…odd…" The pokémon shook slightly, unable to move.

Ash watched in shock as Vanilla suddenly jumped up, doing a backflip. She giggled before running over, licking Keitaro's cheek. He shuddered and muttered something no one could hear. What had just happened? Ash could have sworn Vanilla had been paralyzed by the spores, but for some reason it was Oddish, the one who created them, that was suffering from the effects. His eyes opened when Vanilla turned back around, an evil glint in her eye.

With a cry of 'rattata!', she rushed forward, leaping into the air. She crashed back down on Oddish, smashing her forehead against its. With a swivel, Oddish collapsed, its eyes swirling around like whirlpools.

Misty found the whole situation odd as well, but she couldn't help but laugh at the dumbfounded expression on her husband's face. She clapped once. "Looks like the battle is over. Vanilla wins!" Vanilla showed her appreciation for the decision by running over nuzzling the woman's legs. She giggled.

Ash tore his eyes from the scene when he heard groaning. Keitaro was getting back to his feet, rubbing his arms and legs. The boy really was an amazing person if he could recover from stun spore, even a low-level stun spore, so quickly without need for medicine. "You okay?"

"My head hurts."

"Right then. On to the next battle!"

Keitaro felt like crying. But he might as well get it over with. His eyes widened when he saw Pikachu jump down from Ash's shoulders, obviously readying itself for battle. "You're using Pikachu?" His voice was steady but his nerves were anything but. If the current trend was going to continue, he knew was going to end up getting struck by hundreds of thousands of volts before the end of this battle. He wondered if he should just change his profession to professional lightning rod. The pokédex's entry didn't help matters much.

**Pikachu, the electric mouse pokémon. An electric-type. It stores electricity in the electric sacs on its cheeks. When it releases pent-up energy in a burst, the electric power is equal to a lightning bolt. When several of these Pokémon gather, their electricity could build and cause lightning storms.**

Ash grinned. He was going to have fun. Things were getting a lot more hectic than he thought they would. But that was the sort of thing he lived for. "Why, you scared?"

Though his mind was waving a giant neon sign with the word 'YES!!', Keitaro shook his head. "No, just wondering." He called for Vanilla, who reluctantly left her cuddling position with Misty to go back to him. She liked the petting! But Keitaro was her trainer, someone she voluntarily joined. If she couldn't give him that much, then she shouldn't have bothered in the first place. Besides, she was having a good time with him and his head was the perfect place for her to rest.

"Myu!" She moved back to starting position, saluting her opponent with her tail.

Pikachu sniffed, trying to get a feel on the pokémon. He could tell there was definitely something different, almost mystical about her. He had been around the world with Ash and his friends, had seen pokémon that ruled time, the dimensions, even created the universe. And every time he had managed to pull through thanks to the bonds that they shared. Pikachu could tell right now that although the Rattata might look unseeming and naïve, there was a great deal more power and experience than at first glance. He would have to take it serious.

"Pikachu."

Vanilla just looked at him, smiling absently. "Myu."

Keitaro could almost see the tension that was forming. He didn't really know what was happening, but he could tell that there was something up. Shaking his head, he got rid of the notion. Better to focus; he had to learn as much as he could. Trying to get the initiative this time, he called out the first attack, confidence beginning to pour into his voice. "Vanilla, start with bite!"

"Pikachu! Tackle!"

With dual cries, the battle began in earnest. As Ash took it slowly, Keitaro tried his best to learn what attacks would be effective at what times. Although Vanilla still ignored him at times, she was paying attention to his cues more than when they first started. As time passed, it became clear that Keitaro was still green over the whole matter when against a more experience trainer and his pokémon. Halfway through the battle Delilah arrived, taking a seat next to Misty and handing her a cup of tea from the tray she had prepared. The two watched as the trainer-in-training and master dueled it out.

"Dodge it now!"

Keitaro groaned when he shouted the order too early, allowing Vanilla to be clipped by Pikachu's electric attack because her defenses were open. The pink pokémon hit the ground, her shoulder numb from the voltage.

Ash could see that the stamina of both pokémon were beginning to wear out after the drawn-out battle, so he decided to lightly end it. "Pikachu, use a low-powered thundershock!"

Drawing the power from within, Pikachu's cheeks began to spark. However, as he locked onto his target, Vanilla's eyes began to glow a light blue color. No one else noticed it, but Pikachu could feel his mind begin to fall into disorder the longer he stared into the azure-tinted irises. The following confusion raised his power level much higher than it should have been, and yellow sparks began to erupt from his electric sacs in a chaotic fashion.

Keitaro, seeing something was wrong, instinctively reacted. Without even knowing why he was doing so, he rushed onto the field, pushing Vanilla aside. Ash couldn't even shout a warning when he noticed the overcharged volt as the thundershock exploded, shocking Keitaro down to his core. He hit the ground harshly, static energy crisply emanating from him.

Upon seeing what happened, the others rushed to see if he was all right. Keitaro groaned and coughed, picking himself up into a sitting position. "Ow…that kinda hurt."

Ash was apologizing before he knew it. "I'm sorry, Keitaro! I don't know what happened! Pikachu was only supposed to do a light attack but somehow his output level skyrocketed!"

"Pika pi chu pika!" Pikachu couldn't remember what happened. All he could recall was blue eyes and then shooting off the attack. Everything else was a blank.

Keitaro waved his hand and placed it on the electric pokémon's head. "It's okay. I'm sure you didn't mean to," he said. Pikachu could only flatten his ears in shame at losing control of himself like that. It was rare for something like that to happen.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Misty asked. He had taken a pretty powerful attack head on. There were bound to be residual effects.

"No, I'm fine, really."

"We'd better end training for today anyway," Ash stated. "After all that I'm sure the pokémon are tired and we don't want any repeats of what just happened."

"Why don't we take a break then," Delilah suggested. "I just made some tea and Mimey's baking cookies right now so they should be done a little while."

Ash smiled. "Sounds good, mom." He helped Misty back up and led her back to her chair, taking a sitting position next to her. Delilah followed, retaking her own chair. Keitaro came soon afterward.

He wondered what really happened. It was so weird but he could have sworn he felt a really bad vibe coming from the pokémon before he found himself running across the field. What had caused him to do that and what was that feeling he had earlier? The only clue to the mystery was currently hanging onto his head. Vanilla was cooing, almost apologetically, her tail wrapped around his neck and stroking his cheek.

He supposed it would just have to wait till later. Making his way, he joined the family, soon falling into light discussion.

FRTMFRTMFRTMFRTMFRTM

Keitaro looked at himself in the mirror, admiring his new frames. The glasses had arrived a couple weeks or so after he had ordered them, and he found them to pleasantly attractive. They were much smaller than his original ones, thin rectangular lenses that gave him an intellectual look. He was even more relieved with the fact that he would no longer have to rely on other people to lead him around whenever he went on an errand or something. He felt he was relying on the Ketchum family too much that he didn't need them as seeing-eye people as well.

He turned to Vanilla, who was perched on the sink beneath the mirror. She was leaning back and forth, humming a lilting tune. He chuckled at her childish demeanor. Over the previous days he had gotten much closer to the mysterious pokémon. He still didn't know why he was the only one who saw her in this form, but he figured it must have something to do with creation crystal or simply the fact that Vanilla didn't look like any pokémon he could find in the pokédex. There were several files that were missing, but that may have just been coincidence, right?

Keitaro scratched Vanilla under her chin. She purred and latched on his hand with her small paws. Keitaro laughed softly. Lifting her up, he deposited her on his head. He looked at their reflection in the mirror. "What do you think?" he asked, readjusting his glasses. "Do they look good, bad? How about cool?"

"Myuuuu…nyu myu." She replied, settling her chin on his head. Using her tail, she pushed the frames farther up his nose.

"Yeah, I think so too." Even though he wasn't even close to being able to understand the various pokémon languages, which seemed to only consist of their names pronounced different ways, he still managed to gather enough from the attitudes that they shared. It was amazing to see how each one had such distinct personalities. The animals from his world were not even close to this kind of intelligence. However, there were still some similarities that he found sorely in need of change. He grimaced when he felt Vanilla tug on his hair.

Keitaro sighed and pushed her hands off, shifting his hair around. He was already in desperate need of a haircut, his shaggy strands long enough to begin causing a serious damper on his vision. They hung almost right past his eyes, and he put considerable consideration into having the darn things sheered off. Well, maybe that would be the next thing on his list of things to do.

Closing the bathroom door behind him, he thought back to the practice battles he had held with Ash. The man was not a master for nothing, as he had a wide variety of pokémon for Keitaro to have Vanilla fight against. He also helped Keitaro gain a better strategy for helping Vanilla use her moves to the fullest. The only consistent problem was that Keitaro was introduced to every pokémon attack imaginable…up close and personal. He had been charred with a flamethrower from a Magmar, blown off his feet with a whirlwind from a Pidgeot, focus punched by a Machoke…The list went on and on when each attack inexplicably hit him at one point or another. As time went on he began to wonder if pokémon naturally had a vendetta against him or something.

He found it a bit strange that Ash only battled him with pokémon from the region, but Ash had explained he didn't want to overload Keitaro with countless types of pokémon. Misty then said it was because Ash had left them in respective regional labs across the world. Ash knew to shut up then and wail on Keitaro instead.

He sighed when he thought not about the battles but more about the battles' participants. Pokémon played an essential role in them, but he couldn't really see them as happy or particularly fulfilled with their role in life. Unless you were someone who lived for the song of battle, being forced to fight against other of your kind had to be emotionally painful over time. Keitaro knew he had no right to complain about pokémon treatment since he was just a stranger to their cultural development over centuries, but he still just found the whole thing…wrong.

How would humans like it if they were pitted against one another against their will? To fight until one of them was knocked unconscious or worse? And then there was the very fact that pokémon had to obey their masters. It didn't matter if the trainer was good or bad, the pokémon had to listen to them regardless. Pokémon weren't innately good or evil. Like humans, they had their own moral beliefs and ideas. But those that captured them could hypothetically bend them to their will and force them to do evils the pokémon themselves would not want to do.

There were people like Ash, who obviously respected their pokémon and tried to be friends with them and make bonds. Even if they had the pokémon fight, at least they cared enough to take care of them outside of battles and their pokéballs.

But then there were also people like Team Rune, who used their pokémon like tools and ways to advance their individual plans and desires. Thinking back now he wondered exactly what was being done to those pokémon that had been in Ptolemy's lab. Were they being used for genetic modification, or perhaps as test subjects if Ptolemy had managed to extract the creation crystal from Keitaro? He had no idea.

Sighing, Keitaro removed Vanilla, cradling her in his arms. She giggled and purred as he tickled her. He found it so weird, but he thought he was beginning to understand exactly what it meant to be a pokémon trainer. If it was to look after pokémon like Vanilla, then perhaps honestly becoming one would be a good thing.

Still, he promised he would never forcefully capture a pokémon. Unless they were like Vanilla and willfully decided to join him, and even then he figured he would be reluctant over the whole matter, he wouldn't try to make them join.

Walking down the stairs, he entered the restaurant section of the building. Pallet House had closed a little while beforehand, and Delilah was busy cleaning up after the late customers. Carefully placing the dishes into the sink to allow them to soak before sticking them in the washer, she turned when she heard footsteps entering. Seeing who it was, she smiled. "Hello, Keitaro. What are you doing here?"

He shrugged and placed Vanilla on the counter. She quickly fell onto a slice of cake that Delilah pushed to her, smearing crumbs and icing all over the previously spotless counter. Keitaro almost groaned at her eating habits but held it back. "Nothing much. Just wanted to see what was going on." He looked around. "Where are Ash and Misty?"

Delilah held a hand to her mouth as she laughed softly. "Oh, those two got into a fight over some stupid something or other. I imagine now they're 'making up' in their room as we speak."

"Oh." Keitaro blushed when he thought about. Trying to shake himself of those thoughts, he pushed his sleeves up. "Do you mind if I help you? I can actually see now so hopefully I won't misjudge the distance and drop things."

Delilah smiled brilliantly at the offer and slid over to allow Keitaro to work. She was just going to let the washer get it but if he was offering she wasn't going to decline. As he slipped his hand into the warm, soapy water, she glanced at his face. "Those glasses look very nice on you, Keitaro. Misty made a good choice when she suggested them to you."

"Thank you, ma'am," he mumbled. He remembered how Misty had chastised him when he tried to get the same kind of frames as his original, staying that they were too dorky for him. If he was going to start a new life here, albeit only temporary, he needed a new look as well. The frames resembled Seta's and Keitaro began to wonder if he was slowly turning in a clone of the ditzy archaeologist. Not that that'd be a bad thing; he thought Seta was a really awesome guy. Keitaro just wanted to be his own person, not a ripoff of someone else.

The two adults remained silent as they continued to hand wash the dishes. Vanilla had fallen asleep after voraciously devouring the sugary sweet, small snores rising from her body. Keitaro stopped rubbing at a particular stubborn grease stain. "Mrs. Ketchum…?"

"Delilah, dear," the older woman corrected. "Mrs. Ketchum makes me feel old."

"Delilah," he amended, a blush forming on his cheeks. What he was about to say was hard, but he felt it needed to be said. "I just wanted to thank you for all the help you and your family have given me since I popped up here. You've given me a place to stay, Ash is like a big brother to me, Misty is helping me feel at home even though she obviously has enough to deal with, and Tracey is really doing his best to try and get me back home. Even Pikachu and Mimey are trying to make me feel comfortable."

He took his hands out of the sink and turned to the woman. Keitaro bowed deeply, his eyes screwed shut. "Thank you. For all you've done for someone like me, thank you so much."

Ketchum said and did nothing as Keitaro slowly straightened back up. He looked at her anxiously. What was going through her mind? He nearly jumped when she took a step, closing the distance between them. He almost fainted when she brought her face right next to his, her eyes not revealing a thing. He did pass out when she leaned forward, planting a kiss on his forehead, her lips soft and tender.

Delilah almost yelled when Keitaro collapsed to the floor. She then laughed at the goofy expression on his face. He really was a sweet, kind boy, if not than just more than a little naïve. Who would have thought he would pass out with a simple kiss on the head? Oh wait…She thought back to when Ash had shared his first kiss with Misty. Never mind, she could see how it could happen.

Seeing that he was pretty out of it, she filled a cup with water and then splashed it on his face. Keitaro woke with a start, sputtering and feeling like he had just been blasted with another water gun. When seeing that it was Delilah and remembering just why he had fainted, he blushed and stood up without a word. Keitaro rubbed the back of his neck in embarrassment.

"Um, sorry about that."

"Don't be," she responded. She pushed him backwards, leading him to one of the booths. As he sat in one of the seats, she took the opposite one. Smiling, she began to speak. "Keitaro, you don't have to thank us for anything. We honestly love having you around here. Ash sees you as family, and Misty enjoys your company as well. Pikachu finds you fun, and Tracey is having a blast drawing sketches of you and that crystal. And me? Well, it's like having a cute nephew that's come to visit."

"Oh." Keitaro absently rubbed the back of his hand where Delilah had kissed him. A distant part of his brain had hoped it was more, but the rest of him really did feel content with the way she treated him. If Haruka acted the same way, he was sure she wouldn't smack him with that halisen of hers so much. Then again, if she did then she wouldn't be the Haruka Keitaro knew and loved "Thank you for that."

She smiled. "No problem." Standing up, she ruffled her hair. "Would you like a slice of cake, too?" Delilah clapped her hands together, an excited smile on her face. "Oh! And maybe some milk as well!"

"That would be nice. Thank you." Delilah nodded and retrieved the food and drink, returning to the table. Keitaro gratefully accepted the dish and glass and dug into it. As he did, he felt someone take a strand of his hair and twirl it. Looking up, he saw that Delilah was frowning as she played with his hair. He swallowed. "Something wrong?"

Her frown deepened. "You need a haircut."

"Badly?"

"Badly."

He sighed. "Yeah, I figured so as well."

Delilah smiled at his admission. "If you don't mind, I can cut it for you."

His eyes widened. "Really?"

She nodded. "I used to cut Ash's hair when he was little, but he won't let me anymore. Says that a grown man shouldn't have his mother cut his hair." Delilah chuckled and she tapped her arms with her fingertips. "Still doesn't stop him for begging me to bake fresh cookies for him every so often. Should we get started then?"

Keitaro nodded and Delilah stole a stool from the counter, using one of the store's smocks as an improvised cloak to prevent hair from falling on Keitaro's clothes. Keitaro watched nervously as Delilah pulled a pair of scissors out, giving a couple snips to test their blades. Finding them satisfactory, she set to work on his hair.

Snipping here and there, she thinned out his head, being careful not to cut anything that shouldn't be, like his ears or neck. Keitaro fell into a swollen lull as her hands gently moved across his skull. They were deft and careful, soft and tender. His eyes closed as she moved his head back and forth to get better access to parts of his hair. It was so soothing, so nice. Perhaps it was because of the sweets he had just eaten, or the fact that he felt close to the person doing the cutting, but he had never felt at such ease before. Especially when blades were so close to his personal space…

Delilah watched with affectionate warmth as Keitaro's eyelids drooped. He was such a little cutie, and he reminded her of Ash when he was younger and still so childish. That's not to say he still didn't act childish at times but physically her son was no longer a boy. However, Keitaro could easily be mistaken for someone much younger. They were all surprised when he said he was almost twenty-one. With that baby-face of his they could have sworn he was still in high school or even younger. That admission had caused the young man to almost cry with shame.

She cut away little pieces of hair here and there, trying to find a good balance. She wouldn't say it out loud, but she thought that Keitaro looked good with longer hair. Of course those long bangs in front would have to go but she would keep most of it. Maybe if she lightened the sides and kept it longer in the back…A bolt of inspiration struck, and she ripped a small line of ribbon off her apron. With a twist, she deftly wrapped the loose hair in the back up.

Nodding at her work, she prodded the boy in his back. "Well, what do you think?" she asked, holding a mirror in front of him to see.

Keitaro opened his eyes and looked at his reflection. It was actually pretty good. She had trimmed away his bangs so that they were back to normal length, but when he twisted his head he saw that his hair had been gathered into a small ponytail that trailed a small ways down his neck. He looked surprisingly attractive with the way it was done.

Smiling, he held a thumbs-up at Delilah. She grinned and whipped the smock off of him. She'd have to clean the hair up later but for now she'd just admire her handiwork. "You'll have to retie it every time you wash your hair or go to sleep, but you should get used to it after the first couple times."

"It's a small price. Thanks, Delilah. I think it looks really cool. Kinda like…kinda like those heroes you see in cartoons or something."

She flapped a hand at his compliment, hiding the smile that tried to force its way out. "Oh, you flatterer."

Keitaro looked down at his feet, scuffing one on the linoleum floor. "Thanks…again."

"You're welcome. Now get off to bed. I have a feeling Ash is going to wake you up extremely energetically tomorrow."

Keitaro nodded, gathering Vanilla up and walking into the back where his couch was. He was actually starting to get used to it. It was fairly comfortable if you found the right way to lie in it with your leg half over the back and your body twisted at just the right angle. He lied down, settling Vanilla onto his chest where she still slumbered softly.

Keitaro sighed as he looked up at the ceiling. Things were going well here. A roof over his head, friends, family, a calling, and even a way to return to the life he once had. Even if he had only been here a little while, he had a feeling that things were finally going his way. Closing his eyes, Keitaro quickly nodded off to the land of dreams.

Vanilla cracked open an eye when she felt Keitaro's breathing even off. Crawling up his body, she stopped at his chin, staring at his face. Such a strange human and an even stranger person. She had been awake the whole time and just couldn't get the young man's reactions and attitude out of her mind. So silly, so innocent, and so easy to fool around with. What _would_ she do with him?

Smiling, she pecked his cheek, giggling when the man muttered something in his sleep. Vanilla curled up where she was, soon falling asleep after her trainer.

Ah well, tomorrow was a brand new day after all.

FRTMFRTMFRTMFRTMFRTM

Keitaro sighed as he watched Vanilla float around him without a care. He had decided to leave the restaurant when he figured that the others were acting weird whenever he was around. Well, whatever, he would take the time to walk around Pallet Town again. It wasn't like it was the first time people started to act strange around him. The girls acted strange at times, too, especially when they were planning something. Though usually their plans ended with him being physically or mentally traumatized despite what their intentions were.

"Myu!"

Keitaro looked up when he heard Vanilla call for him. "Hmm, what is it?"

"Myu myu!" She pointed sharply at something.

Keitaro walked up, following where he paw was pointing at. "Huh, I don't see anything. It's just a hill."

"Myuuuuu…"

Keitaro froze at the tone in her voice. He recognized it. Oh gods, did he recognize it. It was the same tone she took whenever she-

His thoughts were cut off by the sudden pink bubble he found himself trapped inside. He groaned miserably, poking at the sides. Nope, they wouldn't budge, simply stretched to accommodate his movements. Keitaro had long since become familiar with this skill. He had figured that it used some sort of psychic energy, as no physical means could break it and it had no other use other than to contain him or be used by Vanilla as some sort of spherical trampoline.

Keitaro sighed and turned to where Vanilla was floating. "Vanilla…" he warned. "Let me out…"

"Myu?"

"Don't play innocent with me, little girl. Let me out now!"

"Myuu…?" Vanilla teasingly stuck her paw out, placing it just _so_ against the bubble.

"Vanilla, no." She pressed against it a little more. "I'm warning you…" Some more; the bubble began to tilt, losing in the precarious balance act it had between the hill's friction and gravity. "Don't you dare-!"

The bubble rolled over, making its way down the hill. Keitaro screamed as he tried to run with it, making it seem like he was an oversized hamster in a similarly-sized hamster ball. When it picked up speed, he couldn't keep up anymore and fell, rolling along the sides as centripetal force kept him from falling inward.

He hit a small incline in the hill, causing the ball to launch as though off a ramp, propelling him through the air. Halfway through the arc, the bubble burst and Keitaro spilled into a small ditch that had collected a fair amount of water from yesterday's storm. He came back up sputtering, his entire body drenched. Keitaro growled as he saw the pink pokémon laughing her butt off back at the top of the hill.

The legendary pokémon had taken to teasing and playing pranks on him quite constantly over the past couple of weeks. From ripping the curtains open while he was showering to waking him up with a water gun to the face (he _still_ couldn't figure out how she could use so many different attacks; just another mystery piled on), Vanilla was beginning to remind him way too much of Sarah. Just connecting the cute pokémon to that vicious blond hellspawn of a brat was leaving a bad taste in his mouth.

It didn't help when she involved the others at times. Like the time she released all those Tauros from their pens at the lab and they ran him over (_every…single…one!_) or added an ingredient to that cake Delilah made so that it exploded all over Pallet House (it took all _day_ to clean it up.) But the Ketchums and Tracey took it all in stride, like they had had things like it happen to them before. In fact, the far-off look in Ash's eyes during the exploding cake incident showed that he was quite experienced with such 'accidents.'

Keitaro held back the sneeze that wanted to come out, picking himself out of the ditch and back onto the road. Looked like he had to head back now if he wanted to get clean. He saw that Vanilla had hovered down the hill to his position. Keitaro grumbled at her happy expression. "You're lucky you're so cute…"

Vanilla hopped on her tail, putting her paws to lips and then whisking them out like she was blowing a kiss. Keitaro felt as though the sun suddenly got brighter. He could _feel_ the water evaporating off of him. Glancing back down, he sighed at her expectant face. "Okay…hop on…"

Vanilla gave a squeal of delight, settling into her favorite position. She gnawed on his ponytail, one of her new favorite activities. Keitaro sighed again and headed back.

When he reached Pallet House, he opened the door and was immediately bowled over by a greeting and praise.

"Good Luck, Keitaro!"

"Huh?"

Keitaro was shocked to find party poppers going off, streamers all over the place. He looked to see a large banner strung across the ceiling, the words, 'Good Luck on Your Journey' written across it. The Ketchums and Tracey were crowded around the entrance, Mimey and Pikachu with their respective friends. They were clapping, some holding the poppers, others nothing. Keitaro blinked with uncertainty.

"What…what's going on?"

Ash helped him back up. "Don't you remember? This is your going away party. It's been a whole month since you arrived here."

Keitaro blinked before his eyes widened in realization. When he first decided he'sdbecome a pokémon trainer, he decided he would leave for his journey a month from the day he first arrived in their world. He had completely forgotten that today was that day, so absorbed he was in other things. He stuttered as a flush appeared on his face.

"So…so th-this is all for m-me?"

"Yup!" Ash grinned. "It gets even better! We've got presents for ya as well!"

He pulled the young man in, nearly wrenching Keitaro's arm from his socket. Keitaro was flustered as they gathered around him. They were really going all out! Tracey was the first one to give his gift.

"I updated your pokédex," he said as he handed the device to Keitaro. "It has a lot more functions than the standard one, so be careful not to lose it. It'll help monitor the crystal's growth and activity levels as well as the power it may gain from the badges. There are also a few other things thrown in as well, but I'll let you figure them out on your own." He winked slyly at him, and Keitaro had to wonder just what the sketch-crazy scientist had programmed into the machine.

Delilah was the next one. She handed Keitaro a small bag. When he pulled the contents out, he was surprised to find it was the Team Rune jacket he had arrived in. "I modified it so that it would be more for you," she said. "I hope you like it." The crystal insignia had been replaced by a pokéball, the interior lined with heavier material to protect against the cold, and a hood was sewn on so as to help in bad weather. Keitaro put it on, noticing that the size had been reduced to fit perfectly to his frame.

Misty came after, handing him a large and durable looking backpack. She grinned. "I figured with all that you're about to go through, the least I could do was give you something good to keep all your stuff in. It has a lot of pockets to store things, and the material has Rhyhorn scales woven into it so it's very durable and also fire-retardant."

Ash was the last one. He and Pikachu walked up, the master putting both his hands on Keitaro's shoulders. "Keitaro, what I'm about to give you is very important to me. I hope ya take good care of it." Keitaro gulped. What could it possibly be? Ash grinned as he retrieved an old hat from his back, holding it out. "This is one of the hats I wore when I was a trainer. I believe it gave me a lot of luck, so I'm thinking that maybe some of it will rub off on you."

Even though the hat looked weathered and had certainly seen better days, Keitaro could tell it had a great amount of emotional significance to the older man. "Is it really okay giving this to me?"

Misty laughed at his reverence. "Don't worry about it. Ash has several more of them. He even gave me his first hat as a gift on our first date."

Ash grinned slyly at her. "And you still keep it under your pillow."

Misty blushed and pulled on her husband's cheek. "_Quiet_ about that, _dear_…" she growled at him.

Keitaro could feel tears begin to well up in his eyes. He rubbed an arm across his face to get rid of the warm droplets. "Thank you," he murmured happily, his voice thick. "Thank you all so much…for everything."

They all grinned at the display, beginning the party. It continued until the afternoon, no customers coming in as Delilah had closed the restaurant for the day. When everything was done and over with, they all found themselves on the streets of Pallet, watching as Keitaro made his way to Route 1.

He stopped and turned around. "See you all soon! I'll call back whenever I can!" He was wearing the jacket Delilah had fixed for him, Misty's backpack slung over his shoulder, the pokédex Tracey had modified in his jacket pocket, and Ash's hat turned backwards on his head, hiding the creation crystal from view. At first glance, he looked like a real pokémon trainer.

"Good luck, Keitaro!"

"Hope ya see a bunch of cool pokémon!"

"Oh dear, have a good trip!"

"Tell me if you discover anything interesting!"

"Pika pi!"

"Mr. Mime! Mime!"

As they watched him continue to wave before turning around and picking up his pace, Ash said to them, "Think he'll be alright?"

"Hopefully," Delilah said with a whimsical smile.

The boy tripped before he was barely out of side, kicking up a cloud of dust. Vanilla balanced herself on her tail, clapping her hands gaily.

Misty chuckled anxiously. "Anybody else worried?"

Tracey sighed as he calculated how long it would be before something would go wrong. He swiftly came to an answer. "Oh, yeah."

Keitaro's journey had begun!

A/N: Well, that's the third chapter down. Keitaro finally begins his pokémon adventure! Wonder if any of you laughed at the fact that he's wearing Ash's old hat. Sorry, but I had to make an allusion to the canon series that way. Oh, and if any of you are wondering about his haircut, think Negi Springfield from Akamatsu's other series, "Mahou Sensei Negima." Hee hee, but I _told_ you Mew would be more trouble than she was worth at times. Yay for capricious psychic pokémon!

Also, to one of my reviewers. It's perfectly fine if you want to put an omake in. in fact I look forward to it! Just send it to me by e-mail or something, and I'll post it with one of my own. In fact, send any omakes you want! I'll make a section for them at the end of each chapter! How bout that? Sounds cool, huh? One thing I am disappointed though is the lack of reviews. Ah well, just means I have to work harder, right?

Anyway, look forward to the next chapter when Keitaro begins to realize the "harsh" realities of the pokémon world. Please Review, and remember, no flames!

_Next Chapter: Birth of "The One"_


	4. Birth of The One

Disclaimer: I do not own Love Hina or Pokémon. If I did, I'd have royalties up the wazoo. But I'm still just a poor college student so obviously I…I… _(breaks out crying)_

**From Ronin to Master  
Chapter 4: Birth of "The One"****  
By Irritus185**

The sun was shining, the Pidgey were singing, there was a gentle breeze flowing through the air, and all was right with the world. It was the perfect day for a beginning pokémon trainer to start his or her journey and begin the long, worthwhile task of catching and training pokémon to become their strongest.

Or at least it would have been if there wasn't for the large, very passionate hordes of pokémon running around the fields surrounding Route 1 looking for that one little human.

Keitaro shivered in fright, cowering inside a small cavern on the side of the road that had been carved out by water erosion from both rain and the small trickling stream that passed by. He had Vanilla settled in his lap, covering her mouth with both hands so as she couldn't make any noise and alert the pokémon to their position. Why, oh, _why_ did she have to be such a troublemaker? If she just hadn't…

Keitaro jumped when he felt Vanilla try to push his hands aside, attempting to say something. He turned her around and shushed her loudly. Keitaro could feel his will weakening as he looked at those baby-blue eyes of hers, but he knew that he couldn't give in as the result would probably be a very painful demise. "No, Vanilla," he whispered. "Not a word. Don't say a single thing."

"Myu?" she mumbled through his fingertips. Vanilla's eyes seemed to water even more, her ears pressing down onto her skull.

He groaned softly at the plaintive tone in her voice. Why did she have to be so adorable at a time like this? He was hard-pressed to just put her back in her pokéball but then he remembered just exactly much he hated the idea of imprisoning the pink pokémon like that. It would be tantamount to smacking a puppy with the newspaper because it piddled on the living room carpet. Except in this case _he_ was the one close to piddling from abject fear and terror.

He sighed, sucking back up his breath when he heard movement above them. Oh crap, they were so close he could actually _smell_ the ripe, gleeful anticipation of them as the pokémon hunted him down. Keitaro didn't know why, but it was as though he could actually sense what they were thinking. It was a strange and somewhat uncomfortable feeling that niggled at the back of his mind, only growing stronger whenever he was stupid enough to thing about it. It was like though they were sending out signals, and his brain had become some sort of freakish trans-receiver radio, gathering everything and pushing them into his brain until it threatened to leak out his ears.

The strongest at the moment definitely had to be coming from his own pokémon. Vanilla was nibbling at his fingers, tickling the tips with her small tongue. _Ah great…Why'd she go and have to do that? Now I feel like _I'm_ the bad guy._

Keitaro sighed, realizing that he couldn't keep this up anymore. He looked at the Mew carefully, his eyes searching her own. "Vanilla, if you promise to be quiet, I'll let go, okay?"

"Myu?"

"You can't be loud. It'll attract the other pokémon."

"Nyu myuu." She nodded her head as best she could from her dead-locked position. If it meant she could be free, she'd agree to it and gladly. Besides, Keitaro was such a sweetie. She knew that he wouldn't be able to last much longer with her pitiable state. He was just too kind a person to voluntarily cause discomfort to others.

Sighing, he let go of the small pokémon's head. Almost immediately, Vanilla latched onto him, cooing and cuddling into his neck. There wasn't even a big change in her volume, as she was now being muffled by his jacket, the material muting her purrs.

Keitaro allowed a smile to creep across his face. Vanilla was really just too cute for words at times even if she was a little hell-raiser for most of it. He absently scratched her behind the ears, eliciting even stronger purrs. He chuckled. "So do you promise you'll be good for now?"

"Myu!"

He winced at the loud cry and looked around to see if anything or anyone had noticed. When nothing appeared, he let out a sigh of relief. That was close. He thought the sound may have attracted one of the pokémon searching about, and that would have cause a whole buttload of-

"Raticate!"

Keitaro's eyes widening, he turned his head, the locked joints creating a creaking effect as he did. Looking out, he saw a pokémon hanging its head upside-down from the ledge above. _Holy crap! It's that rabid, monster gerbil!_ When he instinctively smashed against the back of the small hole, Keitaro's pokédex fell out, capturing the pokémon it is lens.

**Raticate, the big mouse pokémon. A normal-type. Raticate's sturdy fangs grow steadily. To keep them ground down, it gnaws on rocks and logs. It may even chew on the walls of houses. If attacked, it stands up on its hind legs, bares its fangs and shrieks in an intimidating manner at its enemy.**

"Raticate!" The pokémon jumped down to Keitaro's level, blocking off his only exit. He could hear a number of racing footsteps approaching his position. It looked like his life was becoming forfeit at these strange creatures' hands.

How did it come to this? His journey had started out so peacefully. He remembered like it was only a couple days ago.

Keitaro began to cry. For the love of all that was holy, it _was_ just a couple days ago!

FRTMFRTMFRTMFRTMFRTM

The sound of sand being crunched under heavy-duty boots rose through the air as Keitaro walked down the road. He glanced at the sky, noticing that the sun had yet to fall past the horizon. He frowned, wondering just far he had traveled. He knew that even with the going-away party he left sometime in the afternoon, but with the distance he had walked he could have sworn it had at least been several hours.

Flipping open his pokédex, Keitaro's frown grew a bit deeper when it said it wasn't even six yet. Then it lessened. Did that mean that he was making better time than he thought? He knew that it would take a few days to get to Viridian City, where he would attempt his very first gym battle, and he wanted to get there as soon as possible. As much as he was beginning to enjoy his time spent in this world, he still yearned for his home, even with all the pain and trauma that came with it.

He stopped for a second, readjusting his boots. Keitaro was still not used to such footwear, but at the advice of Ash saying that he would go through a lot of rough environments, thus wearing heavily on his feet (Ash himself had gone through one too many pairs during his journey), Keitaro decided to accept the hiking boots the pokémon master had suggested. They were a bit tough on his toes, but he knew that they would alter to his feet after a bit of walking.

His frown shifted into a smile as he watched Vanilla float around in lazy circles. The pokémon had shed her disguise since there were no other humans along the route (not that Keitaro realized this) and was simply enjoying floating on the breeze. Her trainer had said it was good to stretch her…tail(?) and made her move around on her own, forcing the Mew off her favorite perching spot.

Over the past month the legendary pokémon had become increasingly more intrigued with the young man she had chosen as her trainer. Not only was he combined with Anima, which she was intimately familiar with from oh so long ago (the memories made her sigh with affection), but he wasn't even from their world. Even Palkia didn't have the power to cross the multidimensional shift into alternate universes. He could only travel into pocket dimensions, small bubbles that were part of the pokémon universe and yet not at the same time. Only Arceus would have an idea of that feat, but the big jerk would never tell Mew. Just because he created the world and was her parent didn't mean it had to be such a stingy meanie!

Still, Keitaro was indeed much different from any of the other people that lived in her world. Of course there was the measure of confusion that came from dimensional lag, but it seemed to be countered by the fact that his universe really didn't seem that different (in an astral sense, of course) from her own. Though most of it seemed to originate from the boy's own hectic demeanor and haphazardly naïve personality.

To be honest, she enjoyed that side of him. Keitaro was one of the few people, in any dimension, who was so utterly gullible and easy to trick. Vanilla mentally giggled at all the pranks she had pulled on the young man, relishing the mixture of expressions on his face from each individual one. But it was strange as just as there were many times the boy was easy to manipulate, there were others when she just couldn't push his buttons. It happened in such a random fashion that even she had trouble predicting what would result from her actions. However, that was half the fun when it came to teasing him.

Creating a psychic bubble, Vanilla plopped on it belly-first, bouncing up and down slowly as she waited for Keitaro to catch up. Being a psychic made it easy for her to gauge how people, both human and pokémon, would act and behave. Around Keitaro, though, it became difficult to see what he was thinking. The only time she had mentally connected with him was the first time they met, and she hadn't attempted a second one at all afterward. For some odd reason, she felt a large desire not to intrude on his mental realm.

The Mew supposed it was because of the single time she had. She had felt such an array of emotions. Some good, some bad, and some nothing at all, like most humans she had come across when she was in an alter form or invisible. But there was something deeper than all of that, such eldritch force that reminded her too much of her fellow ageless brethren; and yet it in no way resembled Anima. It was something that was part of Keitaro only, and just that alone made Vanilla instantly attracted to the young man. But there were other things that drew her close to Keitaro. Oh yes, there were many things indeed…

Vanilla laughed out loud. The young trainer was just so adorable the way he blushed and flustered about like an idiot whenever something bad happened to him. She wondered idly if the boy had extremely short nerves or simply a bad heart. Though she supposed then Keitaro wouldn't have survived through as many trials as he did with her as his pokémon. Vanilla knew she wasn't being the most subservient of pokémon, but then again she wasn't any normal pokémon and she could tell Keitaro knew that as well. She would start to listen to him more often as time passed by, but for now she wanted to have as much fun as she could, even if it was at his expense.

Sighing, she knew that running along this train of thought would only bring more trouble in the end, especially when Keitaro realized exactly who she was. The boy treated her exactly like he treated every other pokémon, which was odd in itself but she would think on that later, and she wanted to keep that treatment as long as she could. Vanilla had even gone as far as to erase her data (and some other things she thought would be better off not know, at least for now) from Keitaro's pokédex. She knew things would eventually come to the point where her true identity would be revealed to the clueless lad, but still, where would the fun be if he knew right away?

Blinking as he watched the pink pokémon giggle deviously while belly-flopping on her similarly-colored bubble, Keitaro could feel a distinct sense of dread circulating through his body. What was the little devil plotting now? He sighed and scratched his head. Well, it wasn't like he could expect anything less from the capricious pokémon. Vanilla seemed determined to fool around with him as much as possible. It almost seemed like he was back home with Kitsune, Su, and Sarah always on his heels, trying to make him look like an idiot.

Well, perhaps she wasn't _that_ bad.

Slipping his hands into one of the many pockets in his cargos, Keitaro fingered the small capsules that laid there. There were five of them, signifying the five other pokémon he needed to be an official trainer. Keitaro sighed. He knew that all trainers needed a requisite six pokémon to be considered legitimate, but that was only to participate in tournaments or gain a job with the pokémon league. He didn't want to start collecting pokémon for that, especially if he was only going to leave this world in the end. Keitaro never was one for riches and fame, and although he often dreamed of being number one in Tokyo U's mock exams, even he knew it was just that – a dream.

Even so, to battle across all of Kanto with just one pokémon? Even though Ash had never captured more than a quarter of the world's pokémon index, he had still caught many pokémon from each region. He had said that while collecting a lot of pokémon was not necessary, it was still helpful and that even he had captured the necessary six and a few more to help him through his journey.

Still, the idea of capturing pokémon just did not appeal to Keitaro. He was extremely surprised when Vanilla not only did _not_ run away from him upon discovering what he was, but also willingly (and forcefully) became his very first pokémon. Then again, there was definitely something different about the pink pokémon but she still should have had the same beliefs that all the others did. To voluntarily become a servant? What kind of person chose to do that – human, pokémon, or otherwise?

The animals in his world were vastly different from the pokémon in this one. Aware, yes; intelligent, sometimes; but the same kind of wisdom that's par and sometimes exceeds that of humans?

Never!

But the pokémon, these beings were just as intelligent, wise, and sentient as humans were. To force them to be pets, to bend under their capturer's will? It was no better than slavery. And the pokéballs themselves – they were almost like a brainwashing contraption. To go from battling fiercely to fiercely loyal with just a simple ball? What other term could be used for such a drastic change in personality except mind control?

Pokémon were people, too, and to derive them of their free will and beliefs was tantamount to torture. Keitaro knew he was probably going overboard with this thought process, that these people had gone through millennia of evolution and interactions to reach where they were today, but he still just couldn't wrap his mind around the idea. It just didn't make any _sense_ to him! None at all!

Looking back, he had to wonder what made him decide to be a trainer. There was the obvious chance of him getting back home, but there had to be something else that overcame his initial reluctance to capture pokémon.

What was it? What overrode that hesitation when he thought about squeezing those beings into those tiny capsules?

Now he remembered…

The smile of a trainer and his pokémon.

The bond he had seen amongst the Ketchum family and Tracey. It was something that touched him deep in his heart. The way they treated their pokémon, not as servants, but as friends and family was something that really spoke to him. Ash and Pikachu, Delilah and Mimey, they were pairs that had braved so many fronts of trouble that it had left them companions so much deeper than Keitaro could even imagine. Or, maybe he would be able to understand the feeling, once he started to make friends out pokémon, not as followers.

Keitaro rubbed furiously at his head, biting down the grimace that tried to escape. Gaahhh, this was so confusing! If only it could be just a little more simple! If only he could just stop thinking so much!

Oh wait…

"Vanilla, come here, sweetie." Keitaro gestured for the cat-like pokémon.

She looked at him, flipping onto her butt. "Myu?"

"You can get your place back, if you want. I think you've…err, walked enough on your own." Well, except for the fact that she was flying and had spent a great deal of the time using those bubbles as support, but Keitaro guessed it was pretty much the same.

"Myu!" She immediately popped the bubble, hovering back to his shoulders. Grabbing his hat, she nudged it off. Keitaro flipped it around so the bill wasn't poking into Vanilla's face. Vanilla latched onto the back of his head as soon as he did, gnawing happily at his ponytail. "Mfyuu nyfu myu…" Vanilla's voice was muffled by the strands lodged in her mouth.

Keitaro could instantly feel his thoughts draining out of his brain as the sticky sensation of his hair pasted against his skin came to the front. Oh yeah, there was nothing that could banish activity quicker from his head than the silly ministrations Vanilla gave him. The pure absurdity of it all asked for nothing less.

It was strange but Vanilla reminded him so much of Tama-chan. The flying hot-springs turtle also had the same effect on him, able to calm his worries but just as easily escalate them with a single flip of her flipper. Keitaro's eyebrows knotted together, his lips quirking up. "Vanilla?"

"Myufu?" She blinked.

"You think this whole journey is a good idea?"

"Nyu?"

"I mean, all the gym battles I guess I'm okay with, but the whole deal with capturing pokémon…Is it really okay? I mean, is it all right that I do that to wild pokémon?"

"Myuuu…" Vanilla tapped her cheek. She shrugged. "Myu myu nyu. Myuu nyuu myu myu myu myuuu. Nyu myu nyu myu…" She waved her paws around, tapping Keitaro's skull at different points during her explanation.

Keitaro listened as the little creature continued on with her lecture, nodding at several inflections in her tone. When she finally finished, he could feel the expectant gaze she was giving him, as though she was waiting for an answer or recognition of her analysis. However, all that she got was Keitaro nodding and then stopping. He blanched.

"I didn't understand a single word you said."

"Myuuu…" she sighed, lightly headbutting the back of his head with the front of hers, her tail slapping his cheeks in mild irritation.

Keitaro couldn't help but chuckle over the whole ordeal. What did he expect? He couldn't understand the various pokémon languages, even though they seemed to understand human speech well enough as well as each others'. In fact, he found that kind of puzzling; that they would have some innate affinity for linguistics that even the greatest scholar would be insanely jealous of.

However, it did remind him again of Tama-chan and also Mutsumi. The young lady obviously understood what the tiny turtle was saying, as she often revealed things that only Tama would know of (due to both her high frequency of being places she oughtn't and ability to meld in with her surroundings.) There was also the fact that Keitaro himself had begun to be able to translate what Tama was saying. He wondered exactly what that meant. Was he like Mutsumi then, able to understand languages not meant for the human tongue? Or was it just that he had spent so much time around Tama-chan that he slowly began to realize just what she was trying to get across? And if that was the case, would the same happen for him, Vanilla, and any of the other pokémon he came into frequent contact with?

He guessed that could be true, what with the relationship between Ash and Pikachu, after all.

Even so, he was slowly (_slowly!_) starting to recognize certain signals that Vanilla was giving him; little pieces of body language that appeared to be especially tailored for him. Heck, that tail of hers could be used for sign language it was so versatile and prehensile, even more so then the monkeys and cats from his world.

Keitaro reached back, scratching Vanilla at the base of her ears. Just like a cat, she butted her head against it, begging for more. He laughed softly. "Well, guess I can understand that much, huh?"

"Myu!" She grabbed his fingers, biting them gently.

He hid the wince as her small but sharp teeth sank into his flesh. _That hurts!_

Vanilla let go of his hands like she had been burned. Keitaro felt confused at that. He hadn't said anything so why…He mentally shrugged. Well, what could he expect from a psychic-type pokémon?

He had unanimously decided she had to at least be that type with all the psychic-like stuff she did. Giant orbs made out of pink bubblegum? Hovering without wings (or aerodynamically-designed flippers)? The multi-colored sparkles she threw in the air like fireworks? The mind-reading?! Oh wait, she hadn't done that yet. (Actually she had but what Keitaro didn't know wouldn't kill him. Possibly maim and traumatize but not kill him.)

Keitaro reached back and pulled at Vanilla's paws. "Hey, it's okay."

"…myu?"

"Yeah, it's fine."

"Myu!"

He laughed. "So, let's try again with the conversation but this time let's make it a bit simpler." Keitaro took a deep breath after receiving confirmation via Vanilla tapping his head. "So, me being a pokémon trainer – good or bad?"

"Myu."

"And what about the whole capturing pokémon thing. Do I really have to do it if I want to become a good trainer?"

"Myu myu."

"And the pokémon? Do they actually like it? On a general basis, I mean."

"Nyuuuuu…" From the tone of her voice, he could tell it was a definite in the negative sense.

"Then how am I supposed to do things?"

"Myu nyu myu nyu nyu…"

Their conversation went on as they traveled down the path. The sun continued to travel along its celestial path, falling deeper and deeper towards the horizon as the temperature began to follow in tune. By the time that they had finished, the sun had already set about halfway, allowing a golden-red glow to stretch across the road and surrounding plains and trees. Luckily they had also come across a small clearing on the side of the road meant for travelers to be put up for the night.

Keitaro sighed as he plopped onto the ground, shucking his backpack off. Vanilla did the same, tumbling into his lap where she let off a contended sigh as she nuzzled the boy's stomach. Keitaro smiled then grumbled as he fiddled with the pack's lashes, looking for the containers of food. Finding them, he took one out and then began to search for Vanilla's. Ash had told him how pokémon had completely different dietary needs from humans, so much that they needed a vastly different formula when it came to pre-made food.

Actually, that thought always kind of intrigued yet disturbed Keitaro. In a world where all the animals were sentient, what did humans do for protein if the one viable source of meat could scream in horror? Luckily, synthesized food was something that was very common, but Keitaro always found the idea of most food items being akin to wet dog or cat food was more than creepy to him. However, that was just the base materials, and most cuisine was mixed and altered in such a way that it more than resembled items from his world like sushi or hamburgers.

Retrieving a can opener, he opened the rations, allowing Vanilla and himself to partake in the evening meal. Glancing about, he realized that it'd be better if he set up his tent as soon as possible. But he was both too tired yet excited to do so. He wanted to sleep out in the outdoors, under the stars with nothing blocking his view.

Keitaro swallowed a bit more of the chunky food-stuff, wiping his mouth with a sleeve. He might as well gather some firewood. He would have to get at least that if he wanted a comfortable night as it tended to slip down quite a few degrees in the darkness.

Vanilla watched him as he gathered some kindling, twigs, and sticks, building them up in a small pile before surrounding them with a ring of rocks. After being flung into the woods from Naru-punches so many times, Keitaro had learned how to rough a small fire when it was too late and dark to attempt the return back to Hinata-sou. He fumbled around, looking for a lighter but stopped when he saw Vanilla standing over the pile of wood, a determined look on her face.

"Hmm, Vanilla, is something up?"

Vanilla looked up, flashing a thumbs-up in a "no worries" pose. Taking a deep breath, she exhaled. "Myu!" With her cry, a small stream of fire poured from her mouth, lighting the kindling ablaze and then the rest of the wood.

Keitaro sat in dumbfounded silence as the pokémon cheered and danced in victory before running back to her seat in his lap. Looking down, he saw that she had returned to gobbling down her meal. She knew fire-type attacks, too? Keitaro knew she could use a lot of normal attacks like the ones she had used in the practice duels, but not once had she used a specific attack that implied a different pokémon-type like fire or electric. Chalk up another mystery to the little pink pokémon. He shook his head. Better to think of these things later. First comes food.

Keitaro continued eating with Vanilla, finishing up most of what was in the can until he was disturbed by a rustling behind him. Turning around, he was startled to see a wild Rattata rifling through his bag. He blinked. So this was the pokémon that Vanilla took the form of when they were back at the Ketchums'? It certainly looked unassuming.

He then shook his head. Wait, this creature was trying to steal from him! He should be more interested in what the little thief was doing rather than what it was!

Quicker than a blink of an eye, Keitaro's hand darted forth, plucking the Rattata by the scruff of its neck. It gave a shrill cry of surprise when it found itself being lifted up and suddenly face-to-face with the irate trainer. Keitaro frowned. "And what do you think _you're_ doing?"

The pokémon struggled, trying to get free from his grasp so it could run away. "Tata! Rat!"

"Hey, hey, calm down, I'm not gonna hurt you!"

"Rattata! Ratta!"

"Myu!"

Keitaro recognized the tone of her voice and his frown deepened. He spared a quick glance at Vanilla, his eyes narrowed. "Whatever it is you're thinking about or suggesting, Vanilla, I'm not gonna do it or let it happen. You have to be a good girl." He turned back to the mouse pokémon, its beady eyes calming down when it realized it wasn't about to be beaten or captured. Keitaro found himself falling into the twin specks of ebony and nearly jumped when his dual growls rose from both their stomachs.

"Huh? So you're hungry then?" He placed the Rattata down, who, for some reason foreign to it, could not force itself to run away, and picked up some of the uneaten remains of his food (Vanilla had eaten all of hers already). While the pokémon would not get all the needed nutrients and supplements, at least it wouldn't go hungry. He offered a piece to it, his voice beckoning. "You can have some if you want. I won't bite."

The Rattata looked at him then the proffered food then him again. It blinked and then snatched the morsel from his fingers, scarfing it down faster than it took for him to register that it had taken it. The pokémon licked its claws, wiping the crumbs from its whiskers. It let out a satisfied cry.

"Rattata!"

Keitaro sighed when he saw that the pokémon was no longer trying to avoid him. Instead it sat on its hind legs, its upper torso straight up. It tilted its head to look at him. Keitaro pursed his lips. "So I guess this means you're not afraid of me anymore?"

It grinned and nodded. "Ratta!"

He let out a long breath of air. Well, at least he hadn't totally bungled that up. He was afraid that his first meeting with a pokémon as a trainer would go extremely badly but this was actually kind of pleasant. He had no desire to capture another pokémon soon, but if he could still interact with pokémon like this then he supposed that would be just fine.

"Rattata?" The pokémon had finally noticed Vanilla who was still sitting in her trainer's lap. Upon realizing who it was, it fell into disbelief. "Rattata tat?! Ratta?!"

Vanilla simply smiled. Ah, the burdens of being eve mother. She giggled. "Myu nyu!"

"Rattata!"

Keitaro watched as the two bantered back and forth. Well, it looked like the two had hit it off. He was surprised at how the Rattata was acting when it talked with Vanilla. So formal and yet familiar at the same time. It almost reminded him of the etiquette one showed to an elder back home. His eyes grew amused. Maybe he could find out what was going on. Twisting around without trying to disturb Vanilla, Keitaro picked up his pokédex from its resting spot. He felt Vanilla's weight leave just as he got it.

"Myu!

"Rattata!"

He swiftly turned around, his expression melting into a frightened one. Vanilla had latched onto the Rattata, kicking it into the air and juggling it with her feet like it was some kind of ball in a circus trick. The pokémon was obviously disoriented, its eyes swirling and it frantically calling out for help. Vanilla just laughed as she continued to swirl the pokémon head over heels again and again.

Keitaro leaped forward, trying to break them apart. "Vanilla, stop that!" he demanded. "You're going to…going to…" He trailed off as his face shifted from frightened to downright terrified.

In front of him, emerging from the low grass, were at least a dozen Rattata. Their bare fangs were vibrating as their lips snarled up, angered at the human who would dare try to harm their family. They growled out threats as they steadily moved towards him and Vanilla.

"Rattata…"

"Now wait just a moment!" Keitaro shot his hands up in a placating manner. "Everything's fine. It's just a misunderstanding. You're friend is all right, and there's nothing to worry about…" His and the Rattata's eyes focused on the original one. It had passed out from the dizzying trip, laid strewn out on its back with its tummy facing the sky. Keitaro looked back at the Rattata, his hope slipping as their growls intensified. "Well, shit."

Unfortunately for him, it didn't just end there.

Keitaro eyes widened as he saw a nearly meter-tall gerbil walk into the light illuminated by the fire. Its wide mouth was accentuated by the humongous teeth crossing vertically. Keitaro whimpered as it whipped its long tail onto the ground, creating an almost deafening crack. This was not going well for him…

That's when the fire went out, courtesy of Vanilla sweeping dirt on it as she twirled around the clearing like a mad top. The darkness engulfed them as the moon was covered with clouds, and Keitaro could only make out the kind twinkling of stars and the not-so-kind twinkling of light reflecting off the mouse pokémon's eyes.

So, realizing that he was surrounded by a bunch of hostile creature who thought that he had brought harm to their brethren and not having any kind of tactical advantage to perhaps fight them off, Keitaro took the only option he had left and one that he used quite often in such situations.

Scooping up Vanilla, his pack, and his pokédex, Keitaro ran for all his worth, a small horde of angry pokémon quick on his heels.

All in all, this kind of beginning for his journey was simply par for the course.

Though he knew that would only change as time passed.

Most likely for the worse.

A Rattata nipped at his boots when he stumbled for a moment before he could start putting distance between them again. They chased with renewed vigor.

Okay, _definitely_ for the worse.

FRTMFRTMFRTMFRTMFRTM

The sun peeked its way over the horizon, its rays inching over the plains as it searched for beings to give its life-giving warmth to. Keitaro blinked blearily as it smacked him right in the eyes, throwing an arm up to fend it off. _Ah damn, it's morning already?_

He stretched, working the kinks out while Vanilla shuddered against his chest, trying to curl back into his warmth. His sleeping bag kept her close, allowing the two to share body warmth against the colder autumn nights. Cracking his neck, Keitaro winced as he felt the bones and joints shift into a rather painful position. _Um, ow…_

Looking up, he tried to knock the kink out of his neck. But he only succeeded in receiving another shooting pain through his muscles, smacking his head into a branch when he convulsed. Keitaro spit out a few leaves from his mouth and groaned. Ok, this was the last time he would ever spend the night up in a tree.

He had managed to outrun the Rattata and Raticate from the night before. Deciding it would be best to hide somewhere, he chose a small grove of trees tightly knitted together. Luckily the branches were strong enough to hold his weight, so he and Vanilla made impromptu camp in their boughs. Keitaro later figured that this was not the best course as the odd distribution and arrangement of branches only led to him getting poked uncomfortably in various areas and bending his body worse than when Su put him in her excruciating holds. It had taken all night before he could even fall asleep.

Keitaro decided to survey his environment. Looking around, he saw that none of those blasted pokémon from before were wandering around. Great, so he didn't have to worry about running for his life first thing in the morning. Continuing his check he saw that there were several fist-sized fruits a little bit away. Huh, so they were apples here, too?

Reaching out, he plucked one. Bringing it to his lips, he took a bite.

"Hey, that's pretty good!"

It tasted just like his world's apples, moist and sweet. Keitaro happily munched on it, deciding to grab a few more for the road. Vanilla would surely like them as well considering her sweet tooth. As he went to grab another one, his hand brushed against something rough. Puzzled, Keitaro touched it some more. It was scratchy and dry, but not like the tree's bark. What exactly…

It was then a small bird jumped in front of him, crowing at him. It angrily flapped its wings, a small breeze forming. So surprised, Keitaro reared back.

"Hey, wait a minu-whoa!" With a crash, he tumbled through the tree, his shifted weight breaking through some of the less durable branches. Still in his sleeping bag, Keitaro impacted with the ground, throwing up some dust and pieces of grass and weeds. Vanilla woke with a start.

"Nyu?!"

"Ah-ta-ta-ta…" Keitaro rubbed at the lump that had formed and was quickly healing on the back of his head. He had hit the ground pretty hard. With the angle he had hit it, he wouldn't be surprised if he had been knocked unconscious or broken something if he wasn't so damn hardy. Looking up, he glared at where he had fallen from. "What the hell was that?"

The small bird pokémon squawked angrily, rustling its wings in aggravation. "Pidgey! Pidge pi!"

Keitaro glared angrily back at it, matched by Vanilla's as well. She was having such a nice nap with such a warm body pillow. Why'd they have to go and wake her up?! Keitaro tried to calm her down as she let out infuriated cries and mewls as he climbed out of the bag. Even so, he was pissed off as well. What was that pokémon doing? Here he was, minding his own busy when it came barging into his nest and…

Wait, nest? Why was he thinking of his sleeping spot as a nest? Looking up, he was surprised to see that behind the pokémon, there was a small bundle of grass, bark, and stiff weeds. In it he could barely make out several round objects. So that was a nest? What he had tried to search was that pokémon's nest?

Flipping out his pokédex, he checked the pokémon out.

**Pidgey, the tiny bird pokémon. A normal-and-flying dual-type. A common sight in forests and woods. It flaps its wings at ground level to kick up blinding sand. It is docile and prefers to avoid conflict. If disturbed, however, it can ferociously strike back.**

As if to verify the information, the Pidgey swooped down, kicking up a thick cloud of dirt and sending it towards the two. Keitaro and Vanilla burst into a coughing fit as they inhaled the grainy substance. Keitaro immediately felt a paradoxical sense of satisfaction. Why was he feeling that? _He_ was the one getting pounded on!

So caught on in its assault, the Pidgey failed to notice the slight movement in its nest. Keitaro's earlier movements had dislodged one of its eggs, and from its retaliation, the egg had fallen out of the nest and tree, luckily being cushioned by a thick clump of vegetation. Unluckily an Ekans had been nearby, and seeing that the parent was currently distracted, decided to enjoy a nice complimentary egg breakfast.

"Pidgey!" the pokémon cried in victory. The intruders were punished and it no longer had to worry. Turning back around, its eyes widened in shock. "Pidge pidge!"

"Ekans…" The snake pokémon slithered forward, intent on swallowing the egg whole, already dislocating its jaw to accomplish the feat. However, its free meal was interrupted when the Pidgey beset on it with beak and claws. Whipping around, it hissed at the pokémon. "Ekanssss…!"

"Pi!" The Pidgey pecked at it fiercely, trying to scare it away. It knew the Ekans was bigger than it and stronger, but it couldn't just fly away while its unborn child was in danger of being eaten.

"Ekans ek!" The Ekans hissed again, lashing out with its tail. It coiled around the Pidgey, pinning its wings to its side. The bird pokémon cheeped pitifully as air was squeezed out its lungs, but the snake pokémon had no intention of killing it. It would just keep the Pidgey still while it enjoyed its meal. Finding that it had accomplished that goal, it went back to finishing off the egg.

Keitaro coughed again. Gah, what the heck was that all about? The sand cloud had finally died down and now he was free to see what was going on again. Fear quickly lanced through him. Looking aside, he saw the current battle between the Pidgey and Ekans, the Pidgey obviously losing.

Vanilla watched as her trainer's face went through a myriad of emotions. She realized what was happening. Still, it wouldn't be strange for a human to simply ignore what was going on between the snake and bird. This kind of things happened all the time in the pokémon world. It was the law of survival. Besides, that Pidgey had attacked them unprovoked, even though it believed it was in the right. Why would Keitaro help it now after all it had done?

But then again, Keitaro was not an ordinary person – human or pokémon. She smiled as she watched him dash off. Ah, whatever would she do with the naïve young man? She lazily floated after him.

The Ekans was just about to shove the egg into its mouth when something grabbed it at the base of its head. It was jerked up, the Pidgey released from its coil when it involuntarily loosened its muscles from the shock. Looking up, it found itself staring into Keitaro's face. Recognizing he was a human, it instantly went into defensive mode. Twisting around, it sank its teeth into his hand, injecting Keitaro with its weak, barely formed venom.

Keitaro winced, his head producing a lightheaded feeling. _Whoa, that was a trip._ He almost stumbled at the sudden change in his body. Standing up straight, Keitaro increased his hold on the Ekans so that it couldn't bite him again. Then he squatted down, placing it on the ground. The snake pokémon tried to escape, a feeling of danger and pain dashing through it, but the Ekans was stopped by Vanilla, a frightening smirk on her face.

Seeing that she was about to put the hurt onto the Ekans, Keitaro waved her off. "No, don't worry about it, Vanilla. I'm all right, see?" He stood up, but between the poison and sudden head-rush he fell flat on his butt again, holding his temples. "Woo…trippy." Shaking his head, he smiled weakly. "Er, really I am."

Vanilla frowned suspiciously at him but then lost the scary look on her face. Well, if he said it was okay then she wouldn't bother.

Keitaro smiled at her submission and fished something out of his pack. "Let's see…" he mumbled. "You look like a snake so you probably don't eat fruit so…ah! Here we go!" He pulled out a small packet of dry pokéfood. Ripping it open, he poured some of it out in front of the Ekans. "I can't let you eat the Pidgey's egg, but I can't just let you go hungry either. Go on, eat up!" He gestured at the cubed pellets.

The Ekans looked warily at him. It had bitten the human, and now he was feeding it? Flicking its tongue out, it felt like nothing was wrong. Looking at the man, it could only feel goodwill towards it. Quickly it darted forth, swallowing the pokéfood in one fell swoop and then dashed back out, quickly melting back into the tall grass.

Keitaro laughed softly at Vanilla's disgusted look and upturned nose at the Ekans behavior. He then turned back to the Pidgey. It looked at him with a confused, but not mistrustful, look on its face. Already it could tell he wouldn't hurt it or its eggs, but what…It was startled when Keitaro plucked the egg from the ground. The Pidgey almost attacked out of instinct, but was stopped by Vanilla's tail capturing it. It froze when it felt the Mew affectionately rub her cheek against its, only able to watch as Keitaro grabbed one of the tree's branches.

Little by little, Keitaro climbed back up the tree. When he came back to the nest, he carefully placed the egg back. It was then that his legs became wobbly and gave out from underneath him. He fell and was caught by one of Vanilla's psychic bubbles before he hit the ground. Giggling inanely, the mix of the lack of sleep, the day's chaotic beginnings, and the Ekans' weak poison caused Keitaro to pass out.

Vanilla released the Pidgey and floated over to Keitaro, curling up on her trainer's chest. She didn't need the sleep, but he was just so _comfy!_

The Pidgey watched as the two fell asleep. It felt very bewildered by the whole situation. Not only was the human a trainer (as most humans with pokémon were) and hadn't tried to capture either it or the Ekans, but he had fed the snake pokémon and returned its egg back to its nest. And then there was just that feeling of contentment that seemed to radiate from the young man. It was almost impossible to try and describe.

Cocking its head, it flapped over to the sleeping couple. Noiselessly, it plucked a couple hairs from the young man's head, only getting a disgruntled snore. It then flew back up to its nest, weaving the hairs in. Something told it the hair might bring good fortune. If not, ah well, at least it had a memento.

And so Keitaro slept, slept of fervent dreams as the poison wrecked minor havoc on his brain.

At least it wasn't as bad as the time he ate that spoiled natto. _That_ was a bad time…

FRTMFRTMFRTMFRTMFRTM

The pokémon edged closer to their target. They had been hunting him for the last day or so, determined to catch him. After hearing about his exploits with their fellow kind and the fact that he was traveling around with the eve mother, they knew that he was someone special. The ones that had come into contact with him, though, were especially driven, claiming that they had been touched spiritually by the mere aura of the boy.

He could feel their thoughts, and they his. Pokémon from every type on the plains came on the search, even those that were sworn enemies. Ekans and Pidgey, Oddish and Fearow, Rattata and Meowth; they all came in search of him, in search of the trainer that would soon become their messiah, their leader!

And so they were in great jubilee when they found that their leader was waiting for them, hidden from prying eyes near the bank of the road. The Raticate had found him, holding the eve mother with kind hands and warm eyes. It called for them, waiting for the pokémon to bring their praises and gift.

Hearing their voices, he jumped forth, stretching his arms to welcome all of his separate brethren into them. And he called to them, saying that they were pokémon and he was human but that they were one and the same under the blue sky.

He pushed through them, shouting that he had to find his path, but that he also promised to keep them in his heart and to remember him always. He would bring glory to their race and make it so that all humans and pokémon could live in peace. But they followed, for they wanted to be in his presence, to hear his voice, and share his warmth. He was the human who would take them to the promised land, where there would be no grief or famine or war or hate.

For he was the human, the person…The One!

FRTMFRTMFRTMFRTMFRTM

Keitaro ran with all his might as the pokémon cheered after him. Oh gods, why wouldn't they leave him alone?! He just wanted to get to Viridian City and get his badge! And now he had a whole army of various pokémon after his hide?! Why him?

Why him?!

And thus the adventurers of The One began. May all his infinite glory shine over you.

A/N: Fourth chapter is done. Sorry this one took so long. There were multiple reasons why. One, after pumping out about 65 pages in 6 days, I wanted to take a little break. Second, this chapter was a lot slower than the others. Nothing really important happened, and it was merely a set-up for further events and omakes to come. But ya had to admit Keitaro being some heavenly figure is a funny (yet stupid) touch and should make for some good stuff later on. Third, school has finally picked up with lots of reading and writing, and my club has finally started as well, so I've had to pay a lot of attention to that as well. Eh, at least it was only about a week this time, right?

Anyway, start of Keitaro's journey. No new pokémon yet, but that may change in chapters to come. Same thing with girls. Remember, with the LH girls gone, someone has to replace them. After all, Keitaro needs physical and mental trauma in the form of many beautiful women either throwing themselves at him or him away from them. Yay…

Hopefully the next chapter will be sooner, as a lot more happens. Plot picks up again so look forward to it. Keitaro's getting closer to his first gym battle! Hurray! Coming right up is the story's first omake, so enjoy that as well. Please Review, and remember, no flames!

_Next Chapter: First Battle_

**Omake!**

"Run that by me one…more…time."

Su gulped and laughed nervously. Naru was _scary_ when she was angry. Normally that anger was focused solely on Keitaro whenever he did something stupid or had one of his "accidents" or maybe towards Kitsune to a lesser degree whenever one of her schemes went awry. But now that oh-so-righteous fury was leveled straight at the young mad scientist.

Su looked around to see if anyone would help her, but the rest of the inn's tenants were looking at her with just as furious or frustrated expressions as well. Even Shinobu, _Shinobu of all people_, was glaring at her with a strength that was just as common to the prepubescent princess' face as sobriety was to Kitsune. Su sighed in resignation, accepting her fate.

"I kinda…maybe…sorta…"

"Out with it!" Naru shouted at her, her left eye twitching, a sign that showed she was at the end of her rope.

"I sent Keitaro to another dimension with my Dimensional Transport Ray Mark II."

Silence reigned supreme. It was king the first time Su had said what happened, and it held its control this time, too. It was shorter this time as well as Su hadn't bothered to go into the semantics of her newly tested inventions inner workings.

Kistune was the first to break the silence. If this was some sort of elaborate prank by Su, she would be the first to break it. After all, she was the mistress of jokes and trouble. It was her namesake. "What do you mean by that? You mean you blasted him?"

Su nodded. "Gone, kaput, nada. He's wandering in some alternate dimension now."

"But…but you can bring him back, right?" Shinobu stuttered, her tone betraying the harsh expression etched into her features. If senpai was gone then she'd…she'd…She pushed away the thought and steeled herself. "If you sent him away, you can bring him back, right? Right?!"

Su abashedly scratched the back of her head. "Umm…maybe? I didn't exactly calculate the coordinates of his destination, and with the infinite possible amount of universes the chances of me locating the correct one are zil to just above zilch."

Shinobu's reaction was to tear up, open her mouth to wail (the others covered their ears in anticipation), and let out a strangled squeak before passing out. Luckily Motoko dove in to catch her body, laying Shinobu gently out on the couch. Su, watching the debacle, pulled a banana out of her pocket. She needed the sweet, sweet lusciousness of the fruit if she wanted to think straight. Su let out an indignant cry when it was snatched out of her hands.

Haruka stared at her sternly, the banana clutched tightly in her hands. Using her nephew as a lab monkey was one thing, blowing up her grandmother's pride and joy was another thing, breaking countless weapon treaties with her collection of doomsday devices was something else, but what the tanned foreigner had done this time was beyond the mark. So the previous housemother had to punish her accordingly.

"You did it this time, Su. No more bananas for you – _ever_." Her face demanded no resistance.

Su froze. Okay, she could get through this. No more bananas for the rest of her life was a fitting punishment for sending the unlucky ronin to another plain of existence. Heh, was it getting hot in here or was it just her? How come she was so itchy? So many itches, so many! No matter how much she scratched, they wouldn't go away! Why was she so itchy?!

As Su went through the initial phase of withdrawal, Haruka turned to the rest of the girls. She almost lit up another cigarette but decided against it. "So, what are we going to do about this?" Thins were certainly going to break down not that the glue that was Keitaro wasn't around. He even acted just like it, stretching until he ripped into tiny, flaky pieces.

"What can we do?" Kitsune responded. No Keitaro around? Who would she drink with? Who would she sponge off of? Dear god, who would she use to lighten up her sex drive?! Her biological clock was shrieking! It needed release, even if only indirectly! "If Su can't do it then we certainly can't."

"Eh, the dork probably deserved it." Sarah said as she watched Su curl up in the fetal position and convulse wildly. Without Keitaro, Papa would be back to get her. But then she wouldn't be able to hang around Su anymore. And who would she use for target practice? Other people would report her to social services quicker than it took Naru and Motoko's tempers to reach the boiling point! "He's probably a screw-up there as well."

"As much as I agree with that point, I must digress that even Urashima does not deserve such a fate." Motoko was very split in her emotions. Urashima was a man. Men were weak and perverts. Men made otherwise strong women weak. Men also did very pleasurable things to strong women that should never be shown around young children. Like lick his way down her undulating spine to her pulsating womanho- Motoko forced back her blush. Really…She needed to write this stuff down in her diary again. "Who knows what horrors lay in that world?"

"Oh my, but doesn't that sound fun?" Mutsumi gazed around vacantly, even if her internal processors were working at full tilt. She liked Urashima! He was so cute and clumsy and so fun to be around. It was even more fun to collapse on him and bury his cherry-stained cheeks in her bosom. Oh…younger boys were so fun…She giggled absently as she sunk further into her delusions. "Oh so so fun…

Tama looked at her previous owner. Oh dear, why were humans so strange? But now that Keitaro was gone, what would she do? Who would feed her and let her ride on their head? Who would stop her from getting eaten? Without bananas, Su would surely double her efforts on eating the turtle. She shivered. "Myuh."

"I'm sure he's doing fine." Naru forced back the worry that bubbled in her brain. Of course she cared about Keitaro, not that she'd ever let anyone or that idiot know about it. Or herself if her extreme denial had anything to say about it. But still, what was she going to do now that her study partner and maybe-sorta-kinda-perhaps good, close best friend(?) was lost? She snorted. "He's probably being the same old perverted Keitaro there, too."

FRTMFRTMFRTMFRTMFRTM

"AHHH-CHOOO!"

Keitaro wiped his nose. _Ugh, someone must be talking about me._ He looked around to make sure he hadn't gotten anything on the clothes he was folding. He nearly jumped when a small pink cloth was jabbed in front of him. Looking up, he saw Vanilla offer him a handkerchief. He smiled. "Thanks, Vanilla."

"Myu!" she cried in welcome.

Keitaro blew his nose on the cloth. He blinked. Wait a moment, handkerchiefs weren't supposed to be lacey…or made of silk. Holding it out, his eyes widened when the cloth unfolded to become a rather sexy pair of silk panties. He had just been wiping…So these were supposed to be…

"Oh my, Keitaro, I didn't know you were interested in me that way." Keitaro looked to his side to see Deiliah with an amused and surprised expression on her face. He froze at the blush tinting her cheeks. She smiled in understanding. "But I suppose a boy your age is interested in older women at one point or another. But you didn't have to steal them. I would have gladly lent you a pair if you'd just asked."

Keitaro said and did nothing. Then his nose exploded, a gusher of blood erupting from his nostrils. He passed out from blood loss, the panties still grasped in his now sweaty and bloody palms.

Delilah put a hand to her cheek. "Oh dear, did I say something wrong?"

Vanilla just continued to roll around in the fresh pile of laundry.


End file.
